Teachers and Students Upset Over Foreign Language Cuts

The Central Regional Board of Education held its reorganization meeting in a room filled with teachers and students upset over the recent budget defeat and impending cuts.

"They [the students] don’t want to be offered less than what other schools have,” said Nancy Dugan, a Central Regional teacher who lives in Island Heights.

A dozen world language teachers and students from the middle and high schools went to the microphone during the public portion of the May 5 meeting to plead with board members not to make any more cuts to the program. Four of the 11 teachers in the department were already cut before voters on April 27.

But board members said that the budget is now out of their hands. The board met with representatives from all five sending districts on Wednesday, and is scheduled for another meeting on May 16 to further address the defeated budget.

The Central Regional school district accepts students from Berkeley Township, Island Heights, Ocean Gate, Seaside Heights and Seaside Park.

Although voters in Island Heights, Seaside Heights and Ocean Gate approved the $27,489,152 tax levy portion of the Central Regional $33,252,531 budget on April 27, it went down in Berkeley Township and Seaside Park. The total vote was 2,485 to 2,379 - a difference of 106 votes.

Municipal officials from Berkeley Township, Ocean Gate, Island Heights and Seaside Heights all agreed on May 4 not to cut anything from the defeated budget. Seaside Park officials are holding out for a $1.5 million cut.

In other business, past board vice-president Keith Buscio was tapped to serve as board president. Board member Robert Ray will serve as vice-president.

Newly elected board members in Seaside Park, Seaside Heights and Ocean Gate were sworn in to three-year terms. Stephanie Jensen will represent Ocean Gate. Michael Graichen took the seat for Seaside Heights and Tracey Mianulli will represent Seaside Park.

Board members also voted unanimously to approve a middle school autistic program. The defeated budget set aside $50,000 for a special eduction teacher for the program.

The addition of the program will actually save the district money on costly out-of-district tuition payments, Superintendent Triantafillos (Tom) Parlapanides has said.

The district typically spends about $30,000 on tuition on each out-of-district student, and another $20,000 if they require a one-on-one aide, schools Business Administrator/Board Secretary  Kevin O'Shea said.

Lisa Stinemire, the high school autistics program teacher, spoke of the importance of paraprofessionals to the program and her concern for the future in the wake of budget cuts.

“We have to make sure these programs are solid in order to bring the students into the district,” she said.

The start of the High Tech High School Choice program will begin in the Fall of 2012, Parlapanides said.

The district received approval from the New Jersey State Department of Education in April to host the high technology school under the state’s Interdistrict Public School Choice Program. Central Regional was one of 56 schools chosen to be added to the program, which currently has 15 participating school districts, according to the DOE's website.

Under the Interdistrict Public School Choice program, students are given the option of attending a public school outside of their home district without cost to their parents. Student tuition is paid by the state to the host school district.

Parlapanides estimated that tuition for the Central Regional school district would range from $6,000 to $10,000 annually, depending on enrollment.

For the first two or three years the funds will be put back into the program, he said.

After that, the district will absorb the costs using the funds to lower the budget, among other things, Parlapanides said.