• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Schools Eager for a Truce ; Lincoln Park, Boonton Act on Overdue Projects

Posted on: Friday, 13 January 2006, 15:00 CST

By MARGARET K. COLLINS, STAFF WRITER

LINCOLN PARK - After years of fighting, the Lincoln Park and Boonton school districts seem to be looking forward to their future together.

Last month an administrative law judge said the districts' boards of education should not be allowed to terminate their send- receiving relationship in which Lincoln Park sends its older students to Boonton High School. The two districts had jointly asked to separate after a decade of legal battles over representation and educational direction. This week, officials of both said they were relieved that a decision - any decision - was made.

The state education commissioner still has to make a final ruling, but both districts said they are starting to move forward with plans for desperately needed maintenance and improvements, which were delayed for several years because of the potential severance.

Lincoln Park school officials said they intend to hold a referendum in September or December asking voter approval of an addition to their overcrowded elementary school and for infrastructure improvements at the middle school.

"Our core areas, such as the gym and cafeteria, in the elementary school are really only designed for 350 students," Lincoln Park Superintendent Joyce Valenza said Wednesday.

"But we have over 500 students enrolled."

Over in Boonton, school officials also are gearing up for a September referendum asking for funding on two fronts: for upgrades on roofs, boilers, windows and electrical systems, and for educational improvements that include computer systems and other technology.

To gauge public feelings about educational improvements, Boonton Superintendent Mario Cardinale said he is forming a citizens advisory group.

It will consist of 30 to 40 people including Lincoln Park's representative to the Boonton school board, John Reardon, and potentially other Lincoln Park residents who are involved in the high school through parent groups and activities.

Even with relations between the districts seemingly improving, the issue of representation will likely linger.

More than half of the students at Boonton High School - 340 out of 658 - are from Lincoln Park, but the borough has just one representative on the 10-member Board of Education in Boonton, in accordance with state law.

In her recommendation, Administrative Law Judge Irene Jones suggested that Lincoln Park receive more representation but said only the education commissioner or Legislature could make that change.

Acting Education Commissioner Lucille Davy has 45 days from receipt of Jones' decision to accept, deny or modify it.

She may also ask for a time extension because of the complexity of the case or the quantity of material.

State Department of Education spokesman Richard Vespucci said he could not comment on whether the commissioner might need an extension.

A commissioner's decision can be appealed to the state Board of Education, Vespucci said.

But such an appeal does not appear likely, as officials in both districts said they did not expect to press the matter further; rather, comments by board members and administrators on both sides this week focused on teamwork.

"It's my hope and my expectation," said Boonton Superintendent Mario Cardinale, "that both boards are ready to move forward to act in the best interests of the kids, which is to move forward."

Agreed, said Reardon, vice president of Lincoln Park's school board.

"Things are improving in the relations between the two towns and the two boards," Reardon said. "I think everybody realizes we need to get along a bit better."

***

E-mail: collinsp@northjersey.com

(SIDEBAR, page L01)

Fast facts

* In New Jersey, 216 school districts are involved in sending- receiving relationships.

* The policy has existed for about a century, since rural towns started sending their students to larger districts.

* Lincoln Park has been sending students to Boonton High School for more than 50 years.

Source: The New Jersey School Boards Association

Source: Record, The; Bergen County, N.J.

More News in this Category