Ocean BOE Loses Bid To Keep Loch Arbour Students
Superior Court upholds Acting State Commissioner of Education's Decision
The Ocean Township Board of Education has lost its final bid to keep Loch Arbour students in its district.
Superior Court Judge Amy O’Connor denied the BOE’s emergent motion to stay Loch Arbour’s April 4 election, which now places the decision of pulling the village’s children from the school district in voters’ hands.
This is their third consecutive loss on this matter since the year began.
Citing the effects of what they called a disproportionate equity of taxes, Loch Arbour won approval by Acting State Commissioner of Education Kimberley Harrington.
As part of the appeal process, the Ocean BOE submitted its appeal arguments back to Harrington, who upheld her earlier decision on Feb. 24.
Ocean then filed the emergent motion before the Superior Court.
In their argument, Ocean Township maintained that the loss of the students would result in the termination of 20 staff members, a return to pay to play status for some sports, and the elimination of courtesy busing.
In a November 2015 feasibility study, Loch Arbour cited crippling school taxes as its primary reason for wanting to pull out of the school district.
Last year, Loch Arbour paid $2.1 million in taxes, equating to a $125,000 per pupil cost, to have its 16 students educated in the Ocean Township School District, Mayor Paul Fernicola has said. Conversely, the Ocean Township School District’s per pupil cost is $16,000 per student.
“Loch Arbour has been paying 3.6 percent of the Ocean Township School District’s tax levy,” Fernicola said.
The large tax burden prevented property rich but cash poor residents, especially its senior population who were living on a fixed income in homes their families have owned for generations, without the ability to sell.
“It was so onerous on Loch Arbour,” Fernicola has said. “The amount we were paying in taxes really had a negative impact on the ability to sell homes.”
Next month, voters will cast ballots on whether or not to approve the withdrawal in order to send their children to West Long Branch at a $16,000 to $17,000 per pupil cost. The move will come with an estimated $11,000 to $12,000 annual tax savings.
Officials from Loch Arbour and Ocean Township could not be reached for comment at the time of this posting.
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