Budget Cuts Led to School Mergers

Executive Summary

One of the biggest issues is that the Lakewood Public Schools are being neglected and due to huge budget cuts, many teachers were let go, leaving classrooms over-packed while being under staffed. However, there are presently 100+ Jewish Schools located within Lakewood Township alone, and many of them bus the children to, and from school. In some cases, they are only transporting 6 to 10 children at a time, since the Orthodox Jewish religion separates the males and females and they must ride separate buses.

More families are moving into the area and are requesting the district-funded busing to send their children to the more than 100 Jewish private religious schools in neighboring Lakewood.

Lakewood School district is struggling to keep their budget from the busing issues they have been hit with since the rise in the Orthodox Jewish population. There is a New Jersey Law that requires tax payers burdening the cost of the busing/transportation of students to school, to include private and religious schools if the schools are more than two miles from the child’s home/residence.

Lakewood is located about 10 miles from the shore, it’s more than doubled in size over the past 20 years and is well on its way to becoming the state’s third largest city by 2030 (D. Gahary, 2014) The continued fast pace growth that turned a former lakeside resort community into a baby booming town, has problems with its’ continued straining, and outdated infrastructure to handle the local population explosion.

The cost of busing has increased from 2014 being $14,000, to being projected at $19,000 according to the 2018 Lakewood projected budget.

Get quality help now

WriterBelle

Verified

Proficient in: High School

4.7 (657)

“ Really polite, and a great writer! Task done as described and better, responded to all my questions promptly too! ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

Lakewood is facing a situation where the population of Orthodox Jewish and Hispanic families are increasing in high numbers. There are certain issues that come with that population increase, Private school busing and providing enough Spanish speaking teachers for the public schools to properly educate the population need. The cost is an added topic on every budget forum Lakewood Township has. Both issues have an impact on what Lakewood School district, and government will need to decide on in the very near future, so that control will be in place for the years to come.

This path that they are currently on has led to severe financial deficits in the schools and other departments within the city government. The combination of those problems has created a school busing crisis that has exacerbated social tensions and, according to public school parents, endangered their children’s safety. The clock is ticking on this town’s ability to operate and control the busing issues, despite help from Senator Robert Singer who won a Senate Vote in June, 2016 for a bill which gave Lakewood a New Jersey State expenditure of $2.4 million a year, for the next three years (expiring in June of 2019). The question is, will this solve the issues of busing, or only delay the merging of the Lakewood public school students to other school districts surrounding Lakewood Township?

Introduction

Schools merging in New Jersey, as well as other states is becoming more of a common occurrence as budgets decrease, and population increases. Giving a new meaning to the old saying of doing more with less. Schools merge for different reasons, whether two towns becoming one, a natural or manmade disaster, or an unforeseen accident happens. One thing that is a known fact, is that it does happen, and it can be beneficial for all stakeholders involved with proper planning. Also, by projecting what is good for the whole, and not just for the good of one person, or one group of people is essential.

Combining money and resources of two towns can afford them the ability to build better structures which can have the latest, and most up to date safe materials, security, and current technology with the opportunity for upgrades in the future. Most of which they would not be able to afford under one Township’s budget. Every merger of townships happens for different reasons, some of which could be due to the combining of political power, finances, school systems, and businesses.

Lakewood Township, New Jersey is a small shore town that has been faced with extreme budgetary constraints within their school systems, and they are now finding themselves thinking about looking to their neighboring towns to send the approximately 1,500 high school students, due to a situation which some have called out of control. Now, as more Orthodox Jewish families flock to Ocean and Monmouth counties, the busing issue of transporting students to private, and religious schools is spreading throughout the surrounding communities. Lakewood Township, Toms River Regional, Brick, Jackson, and Howell are among the school districts that have seen their busing costs skyrocket as more private schools are requesting state obligated busing. As budgets crash, and transportation becomes more difficult for Lakewood’s local families, neighboring townships such as Manchester Township are beginning to look more like an alternative for many Lakewood public school students.

SWOT Analysis

How can the merger between Lakewood Township and Manchester Township Schools systems be beneficial to residents, as well as other stakeholders in both townships? For this strategic plan we will use a SWOT analysis to display the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that may affect the merger.

Background

Lakewood Township was originally a Village, which was then established as a Township in 1893, and is comprised of 24.98 square miles, with the combination of both rural and residential sections. The population as of the 2016 Census, was approximately 100,758 (US Census, 2016). The median age is 20.6 years old. Lakewood Township. Whereas, Manchester Township was established in 1864, and is comprised of 82 square miles, with the combination of both rural and residential sections. The Township is split into two, by Lakehurst Borough, which sits between the west side, known as Whiting, and the east side more commonly referred to as Manchester Township. Manchester’s population as of the 2016 Census, was reported as 43,500 (US Census, 2016). The median age is 63.7. As you can see from these numbers, Manchester is almost three times the size of Lakewood, but with one and half times less residents. In addition, the median age is significantly higher in Manchester, as compared to Lakewood.

Currently, the total amount of students enrolled in Lakewood’s only public High School is approximately 1,500, whereas Manchester Township High School has approximately 988 students enrolled. Again, Lakewood is a smaller municipality, but the population of school age children is significantly higher. Due to Lakewood’s failing public school system, many families are looking to send their children to schools like Manchester High School, which will cause the need for additional busing, and school expansions to accommodate the influx of new students seeking a better alternative to their current school system.

Current Departmental Thinking

The thoughts of merging Lakewood High School with Manchester High School is something that requires the school district to think ahead of the total severity of advanced planning that is needed. Many school systems throughout New Jersey have merged before for a multitude of reasons. Some of which include budgetary constraints, or lack of students, or facilities. For example, Elmer, NJ Public Schools merged Pittsgrove Public Schools due to the unnecessary costs of maintaining a full school system for such a small population of students. This merger turned out to be beneficial to both townships (South Jersey Editorial Board, 2017).

There are a series of questions that school board members need to address in order to better understand if the school merger is feasible for all involved. The first would be the needs of the community. By doing this, those stakeholders can identify what they expect to come from the merger. The community will address their main concerns for what they believe additional needed services will be, whether they are specialized, or voluntary functions, and the expectation of what those services will encompass. This can include additional policing, and traffic pattern concerns due to increased bussing.

Teacher and Student expectations from both townships should be equally weighed out to ensure that the merger is one that can benefit all parties. Not everyone will agree or transition well, but if a smooth merger can take place, the chance of resistance decreases. Pay scales, and seniority will need to be addressed to ensure the educators are treated fairly and in accordance with contracts. New contracts may even need to be re-negotiated after an initial trial period.

Personal Relationship to Current Organization

As a former police officer of 20 years, with the Manchester Township Police Department, I worked in the Manchester Township High School as a Dare Officer for several years. I am very familiar with the services that are provided in the High School, as well as the capacity of students the school can safely accommodate. In addition, our current Principal, Dennis Adams, is a current Manchester resident, Manchester alumni, and was a former educator in Lakewood Township High School. He is also and a Pastor in a church which many citizens from both townships attend, which has allowed him to maintain a good rapport with staff and many students in Lakewood and Manchester.

With Lakewood and Manchester being long time high school sport rivals, I do see the potential of some conflict. However, I believe that the benefits to the children of Lakewood and Manchester far outweighs the possible cons, if the merger is well though out, and properly budgeted for. There is a lot of hidden talent in Lakewood schools that gets foreshadowed by the failing school system, and many students do not have the access to necessary resources to excel academically, or in sports. Teams that have been life-long rivals can merge into one strong driving force to be reckoned with both in the classroom and on the fields.

Questions and Concerns

Lakewood Demographics of 1,500 students merging to one school will be an under- taking that requires a school district that has enough capacity to accommodate the students. That option is not a realistic option in the present availability of surrounding schools, unless one of the neighboring districts build another high school or expands on what high school building that are already in place. Manchester Township is a prime candidate for this as, the current high school has several acres of property which is can certainly expand upon. However, there are still so many questions and concerns that need to be addressed. Some of which include a solid feasible plan for all to buy in that is realistic and safe. What will the additional costs be? There will need to be additional monies allotted for additional busing,

Additionally, what are the cost factors per student? As of 2019 it has been projected that the cost of each student for busing per year will be-$19,00.00 per student. If you multiply that by 1,500 high school students, that is a $28,500,000 expense on its own.

The townships also need to weigh what is possible? At present time, no school district can handle 1,500 additional students in one high school building. One possible option is portable classrooms to be used. The question is, finding a school district that is willing to provide land that can be available for multiple temporary structures, or building on to the existing schools and that has not been asked as of now. Manchester Township High School has the available land for this option.

In addition, what help can be obtained from outside sources? State and Federal assistance are viable options and it is important to have someone experience in Grant writing to explore every avenue these facilities have to offer. Many times, school mergers are encouraged, and there are incentives and additional funding/loans that can be obtained to help facilitate the merger, as was the case with the Elmer and Pittsgrove school merger. The additional funding can help with employee salaries, construction, and transportation.

The only way this can happen is if it is properly planned, and both townships are proactively persistent. With planning must come patience, as these types of mergers do not happen overnight. Each township will have to give a little to gain a little, but the merger has the potential to be very effective if properly implemented.

PEST Analysis

• Political E
• Economic S
• Social T

Technological

•  Government incentives for transportation, construction, and salaries
•  Dept. of Education Absorption of Debt • Increased education budget
•  Increase to school expenses (salaries, supplies, construction)
•  Increase to transportation budget • Younger parents and students open to change
•  Parents willing to travel for a better education
•  School safety
•  Students reluctant about longer days due to travel times • Manchester provides more access to technologically enhanced classrooms (smartboards, chromebooks, etc.)
•  Lack of resource availability close to Lakewood residents’ homes
•  Lack of late buses

Proposed Implementation

In August, 2018 the State of New Jersey recently proposed a plan to encourage townships across the state to merge smaller school systems into one larger system with neighboring townships in an effort to make a dent in the ever-growing budget deficit. By doing so the State is offering several incentives including reduced loan paybacks, and grants, and additional transportation funding. The merger of the Lakewood and Manchester High Schools will require several adjustments on both sides before it could happen.

There would need to be additional busing for the transportation of students to and from school. There will also need to be structural adjustments made to the existing Manchester High School to accommodate the additional 1,500 students, as well as additional personnel. This would include the addition of classrooms, bathrooms, lockers, cafeteria, and parking lot. There would also need to be an increase of security officers/resource officers in the school to ensure the safety and smooth functionality throughout the school day. Additional supplies, textbooks, and electronics would need to be requested in order to accommodate the additional students. All of which would need to be properly researched and worked into the newly proposed budget.

The current Lakewood High School building could be sold to offset some of the added expenses associated with the merger. A firm strategic plan would need to be set in place in order determine the direction the merger should take, as well as where the resources should best be allocated.

Conclusion

The Lakewood and Manchester Township High Schools merger is one that will take a lot of time, planning, and plenty of resources. All factors will need to be weighed out especially cost factors involved. However, if properly researched, and planned, and with the right project managers in place, the merger can be successful. In the end, the students and community could benefit highly from the merger.

References

1. Gahary, David (June, 2014). American Free Press. Lakewood, NJ: An Orthodox Final Solution. Retrieved December 3, 2018 from: http://americanfreepress.net/an-orthodox-final-solution/
2. South Jersey Editorial Board (August, 2017). NJ.com – N.J school district merger sets good example/Editorial. Retrieved December 5, 2018 from: https://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/08/nj_school_district_merger_sets_good_example_editorial0.html
3. US Census Bureau (2016). American Fact Finder. Retrieved December 4, 2018 from: https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml?src=bkmk