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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Montague Township School District
The Montague Township School District is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade from Montague Township, in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 309 students and 33.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.4:1.

Public school students in ninth through twelfth grades attend High Point Regional High School. High Point also serves students from Branchville Borough, Frankford Township, Lafayette Township, Sussex Borough and Wantage Township (where the school is located). As of the 2020–21 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 841 students and 74.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.4:1.

Students may also enroll at Sussex County Technical School, which accepts students on a selective basis, and to the middle school charter program in Sparta Township.

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "B", the second lowest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.

History

For more than 80 years until 2013, the Montague district sent its high school-aged students to Port Jervis High School, of the Port Jervis City School District in Port Jervis, New York; the Montague district was the only New Jersey school district to send its students outside of New Jersey to complete certain grade levels. Because the Montague Township students graduated from Port Jervis High, they qualified for in-state tuition rates at universities in two states. The district also sent middle school-aged students to Port Jervis Middle School.

In various periods Montague Township considered switching to High Point Regional High School but the 15 miles (24 km) distance was further than the 12 miles (19 km) to Port Jervis High. James Nani of the Times Herald-Record stated that Deckertown Turnpike, the route between Montague Township and High Point High, may be "treacherous" during inclement weather. Rob Jennings of NJ Advance Media wrote that eventually the district moved to court High Point High because of "a desire by some residents to bring students home".

In 2013, the Montague district decided to begin sending its students to High Point Regional, effective September 2014. By 2017 all grade levels for high school students were to be sent to High Point HS. The Montague district initially negotiated with the Frankford Township School District for the possibility of sending middle schools there. Instead the district expanded to covering middle school with students designated to attend Montague Township School for grades 7-8 instead of Port Jervis Middle effective fall 2016. Families of 20 Port Jervis HS students resident in Montague opposed a New Jersey commissioner order saying they could not continue attending that school and got a settlement on June 20, 2016 that allowed them to complete their high school education there. Eric Obernauer of the New Jersey Herald wrote that the move to High Point "was controversial and followed by the successive turnover of the entire Montague board over the next two years".

The Montague district began seeking to annul the relationship with High Point Regional and resume sending students to Port Jervis. In February 2018 all seven members of the Montague board approved a symbolic resolution to not renew its ties with High Point. Obernauer stated that the Montague-High Point relationship was "frosty" and "icy". The Montague district chose to switch back to Port Jervis because Port Jervis offered a lower tuition than High Point; High Point charged $16,368 per student to Montague. All six members of the Montague district voted, in October 2019, to switch back to Port Jervis. The High Point district sought to block this request on the grounds it and its students would be financially impacted. The Montague district stated that the districts signed an agreement in 2018 that would allow Montague to leave at will.

By December 2020 the districts were in a legal dispute. The High Point agreement is scheduled to end in 2024. Obernauer stated that while Montague School District switching to another school district in New Jersey was "conceivable", "it is questionable if a future [New Jersey] education commissioner would ever agree to have Montague return to sending students out of state to Port Jervis" and that "Even without a formal agreement in place, getting out of send-receive relationships in New Jersey is notoriously difficult and typically requires that the separation have no adverse impact on either district."

By 2021 the Montague board, now with new members, sought to dismiss lawsuits against High Point. Obernauer stated "dissatisfaction with how the Montague district is being run and legal fees spent trying to resume the longstanding relationship with Port Jervis, coupled with a growing acceptance of the High Point relationship, appear to have changed public sentiment."

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are:

Elementary schools
  • Montague Elementary School (with 247 students in grades PreK-8)

Montague School was previously K-6, but when the send-receive agreement with Port Jervis was phased out, the school became a K-8. The district had a planned expansion, approved by 4-2 by the school board and scheduled to be put up for a public vote on September 30, 2014.

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:

  • James Andriac, acting superintendent
  • Carl Morelli, business administrator

Board of education

The district's board of education, comprised of seven members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either two or three seats up for election each year held (since 2012) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.

Of the nearly 600 school districts statewide, Montague Township is one of 12 districts with school elections in April, in which voters also decide on passage of the annual school budget. The school board had moved elections from April to November in 2012 and then voted in 2021 to shift elections back to April.

References

  1. ^ District information for Montague Township School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  2. ^ Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
  3. ^ Montague Township School District 2016 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed May 14, 2017. "Montague Township is located in the Delaware Highlands Region of New Jersey. High Point State Park and Stokes State Forest provide the scenery to this rural Sussex County community. Montague Township School District is a Pre-K through grade 8 school in Sussex County. Montague students attend High Point Regional High School for grades 9 through 12. Sussex County Technical School and parent choice school are also options for students."
  4. ^ Public School Directory 2023-2024, Sussex County, New Jersey. Accessed March 1, 2024.
  5. ^ School Performance Reports for the Montague Township School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 3, 2024.
  6. ^ New Jersey School Directory for the Montague Township School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  7. ^ Montague Township School District 2015 District Narrative, New Jersey School Report Card. Accessed June 7, 2016. "In September 2014, the district began to transition incoming ninth grade students from the Port Jervis City School District in Port Jervis New York into High Point Regional School District in Jew Jersey. The transition of high school students into High Point Regional School District will be complete by 2017."
  8. ^ High Point Regional High School 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 8, 2016. "High Point Regional High School is a comprehensive high school serving the diversified needs of the three surrounding K through 8 school districts of Lafayette, Frankford, Montague, and Sussex-Wantage."
  9. ^ 2018-19 School Profile, High Point Regional High School. Accessed April 12, 2020. "Located 63 miles northwest of Manhattan in bucolic Sussex County, NJ, High Point serves students from six municipalities: Branchville, Lafayette, Frankford, Montague, Sussex, and Wantage."
  10. ^ School data for High Point Regional High School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 15, 2022.
  11. ^ Enrollment Options for the 2016-17 School Year and Beyond, Montague Township School District, July 28, 2016. Accessed January 4, 2017.
  12. ^ NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 8, 2014.
  13. ^ Obernauer, Eric (February 13, 2020). "High Point, Montague send-receive to go before judge". New Jersey Herald. Retrieved April 2, 2021. Prior to [...] 2013, Montague had sent its middle and high school students to Port Jervis for at least 85 years,[...]for a portion of their public education.
  14. ^ Jennings, Rob (April 21, 2019). "It's a little N.Y. and a little PA. Meet the only N.J. town squeezed between 2 other states". NJ Advance Media. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  15. ^ "High Point to seek state clarification on Montague school deal". New Jersey Herald. September 4, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  16. ^ Nani, James (February 28, 2013). "Port faces $1.8M tuition loss". Times Herald-Record. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  17. ^ Obernauer, Eric (July 13, 2020). "Montague's petition to end deal with High Point HS to be decided by NJ education commissioner". New Jersey Herald. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  18. ^ "Re: Enrollment Options for the 2016-17 School Year and Beyond" (PDF). Law Offices of Daniel M. Perez, Esq. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 3, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2021. Montague pupils who were enrolled as 8th graders in Port Jervis Middle School on March 14, 2016[...]Beginning in the 2016-17 school year and thereafter, Montague 7th and 8th grade pupils will be permitted to attend the Montague School, Sussex County Charter School for Technology, a choice school, or a private or parochial school. - On the Montague School District site. Use CTRL-A to see all text.
  19. ^ Obernauer, Eric (June 6, 2019). "Montague seeks renewed ties to Port Jervis H.S." New Jersey Herald. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  20. ^ Obernauer, Eric (January 12, 2021). "Montague Board of Education explores withdrawal of lawsuits against High Point". New Jersey Herald. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  21. ^ Kennedy, Mike (December 7, 2020). "2 New Jersey districts in legal dispute over sending students to New York high school". American School and University. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  22. ^ "2 N.J. school districts in court fight over sending students to N.Y." Nj.com. December 2, 2020. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  23. ^ "IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING THE TERMINATION OF THE SENDING-RECEIVING AGREEMENT" (PDF). Montague Township School District. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 3, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2021. - Use CTRL-A to see all text.
  24. ^ Obernauer, Eric (February 11, 2018). "Divorce ahead for Montague, High Point?". New Jersey Herald. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  25. ^ School Data for the Montague Township School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 15, 2022.
  26. ^ "New school bus route to High Point addresses Montague concerns". New Jersey Herald. July 27, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  27. ^ Administration, Montague Township School District. Accessed December 2, 2023.
  28. ^ New Jersey School Directory for Sussex County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  29. ^ New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election, New Jersey Department of Education, updated February 16, 2018. Accessed January 26, 2020.
  30. ^ Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the Montague Township School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2023. Accessed April 20, 2024. "The Montague Township School District is a Type II district located in the County of Sussex, State of New Jersey. As a Type II district, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education. The board is comprised of nine members elected to three-year terms. The purpose of the district is to educate students in grades K-8." See "Roster of Officials" on page 13.
  31. ^ Board of Education, Montague Township School District. Accessed April 12, 2020.
  32. ^ Sportelli, Albina. "Your guide to North Jersey spring school board elections", The Record, April 14, 2023. Accessed March 15, 2024. "Of New Jersey's almost 600 school districts, only 12 have elections in April, the rest have opted to hold theirs in November.... Schools that have kept elections in the spring, or switched back after moving them to November, are: Cliffside Park, Fairview, Passaic, Totowa, Fredon, Montague, Irvington, Newark, North Bergen, Weehawken, West New York and New Brunswick."
  33. ^ Obernauer, Eric. "Montague voters able to vote on school budget once again, board election returns to April", New Jersey Herald, February 8, 2021. Accessed March 15, 2024. "For the first time in 10 years, township voters will again be able to vote on the K-8 school district's annual budget this April. The change comes as a result of the Board of Education's 5-2 vote to move school elections back to April from November.... As it did when the election was moved to November from April in 2012, the board resolution states the change must remain in effect for at least four years before a future board can reverse."

Further reading

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