A school district seeking state approval to send high school students to New York is accusing New Jersey school officials where they attend classes of trying to sabotage the move.
The Montague school board’s lawsuit against the High Point Regional district in Wantage is the latest development in a decades-old debate involving Port Jervis High School, the New York school where the K-8 district enrolled students for 85 years ending in 2014.
The board voted 6-0 in October 2019 to reverse course and seek a return to Port Jervis after the New York district agreed to a lower student tuition rate than High Point Regional High School in Wantage. If Montague’s return bid is approved by New Jersey’s acting education commissioner, Montague students will regain upon graduating a unique perk, in-state college tuition in both New York and New Jersey.
Both New Jersey school districts have much at stake in the outcome. In July, High Point school board president William Kehoe wrote to the education department that losing the $16,368-per-student tuition fees from Montague, in conjunction with decreasing state aid, could lead to fewer teaching jobs and classes at the school.
As of February, there were 891 students at High Point, including 84 from Montague.
Montague included Kehoe’s email in its Nov. 23 lawsuit, along with other purported statements from High Point officials, in alleging that High Point violated a 2018 agreement not to “oppose, hinder, or in any way obstruct” Montague if it sought to leave. It states that High Point encouraged public comments to the commissioner opposing the Port Jervis move.
“Should the Commissioner of Education deny the Petition due to High Point’s actions, Montague would be required to pay — at a minimum — $3,893 per student more to send its students to High Port rather than Port Jervis,” wrote Montague’s attorney, Vito A. Gagliardi Jr.
Montague’s lawsuit names as defendants the High Point Regional school board, superintendent Scott Ripley and the board’s attorney, Douglas Silvestro.
Silvestro, on Thursday, provided NJ Advance Media with a statement from the High Point board.
“The High Point Board of Education does not wish to comment on any pending litigation, but looks forward to working with the Montague Board of Education subsequent to their January reorganization in hopes that we can then work constructively towards a final resolution of these matters to the mutual benefit of our communities,” it read.
The lawsuit details numerous statements by High Point officials that allegedly contradicted their commitment not to oppose Montague’s attempt to exit.
It cites an email sent Jan. 2 from Ripley, to the state education department. In it, Ripley wrote that “High Point does not support, nor wishes to separate: we believe that our Montague students are thriving and that they are full members of our community and family,” adding that losing the Montague students “would do irreparable and catastrophic damage” to High Point.
Ripley, in February, told NJ Advance Media in an email that “while High Point cannot oppose the petition, we do hope that Montague remains part of the High Point family for years to come.”
A spokesperson for the education department said this week that Montague’s request remains under review by acting commissioner Angelica Allen-McMillan.
“There is no specific due date for the decision,” said the spokesperson, Michael Yaple.
The Montague Elementary School on Route 206, which enrolls students from kindergarten through eighth grade, in Montague, Feb. 15, 2020Rob Jennings / NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Montague is home to 3,753 and among the state’s most remote municipalities, covering more than 45 square miles but without a single traffic light. Until expanding its lone elementary school several years ago, Montague was sending 7th and 8th graders to Port Jervis Middle School.
In the mid-1990s, a group of Montague residents argued in court that sending students to New York violated the New Jersey Constitution because Montague did not get a vote in Port Jervis school matters. A judge dismissed their lawsuit.
The exit resolution adopted by the Montague school board last year cited concerns about educational quality and transportation safety. High Point, in a filing with the education department four months later, countered that the school’s graduation rate is higher than at Port Jervis, and that Montague students are showing gains in standardized testing.
While some Montague students are traveling through High Point State Park, where the elevation exceeds 1,400 feet, High Point stated that no accidents due to road conditions have been reported.
Montague does not specify in its lawsuit why it is seeking to return to Port Jervis.
“For a variety of reasons, the seven-year relationship between Montague and High Point has not worked as originally anticipated,” Gagliardi wrote.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
High Point opened in 1968, about four decades after Montague began sending high schoolers to Port Jervis. It is offering only virtual instruction due to recent coronavirus cases but plans to resume in-person instruction on Dec. 14.
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Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com.
The Link LonkDecember 07, 2020 at 02:00AM
https://www.nj.com/education/2020/12/2-nj-school-districts-in-court-fight-over-sending-students-to-ny.html
2 N.J. school districts in court fight over sending students to N.Y. - nj.com
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