O’port schools seeking input on major renovations

By Neil Schulman
The Oceanport schools are in need of major renovations, and members of the school board want public input on how best to address this multi-million dollar problem.
An ad hoc committee has been formed, and the Board of Education expects to hold a referendum either at the end of this year or next spring.
Oceanport resident Cullin Wible, who is part of an ad hoc committee, has spoken at the Oceanport and Sea Bright Borough Council about the issue.
The Wolf Hill School, more than a century old, is in need of major repairs.

Last year, the Board of Education planned several referendums, though none were held. The first proposed one would have asked for $33 million to completely rebuild the Wolf Hill School and make additions and upgrades to Maple Place. The second, estimated at $26 million, would have looked for a school campus, a chance to move both schools to a single central location.

The high price tags drew opposition from residents, and there were delays dealing with the state to get needed details, so the refendums never took place.
But the repairs are still needed. So the Board of Education has formed an ad hoc committee to look at the issue.

Wible said that there will be two groups on the committee, a small “work group” of four to six residents, and a larger “advisory group.”

That advisory group will include community members, teacher representatives and the principals from both schools, the Oceanport Council, Oceanport Planning Board, Oceanport Police Department, Oceanport Office of Emergency Management, PTO representative, and a member of the Sea Bright governing body. Sea Bright sends its elementary school aged children to Oceanport schools.

The committee believes all these groups have an interest in how the schools are run.

Wible said that currently the committee doesn’t have any firm vision of what should be done with the schools – whether to make repairs, completely rebuild, find other locations, or another solution. The advisory group will gather input, and the work group will make the decisions.

But he’s sure that their recommendation will need to go to the voters.

“There’s very little doubt, because of the scope of what needs to be done, there will be a referendum,” he said.

By law, there are only certain dates a referendum can be held. Wible said the schools probably won’t want the Presidential election and the political hubub that surrounds it to affect voters, so the referendum will likely be held in December or March.

Those interested in volunteering or getting more information can visist oceanportschoolproject.com.