Absecon Board of Education is continuing its fight to sever the send-receive relationship with Pleasantville and instead send students to Absegami High School.
“We have not given up this fight. We are continuing to pursue this new send-receive agreement with Absegami High School, not only for the children currently attending Absecon Schools, but for all future generations of Absecon families. We will keep at this until we get a fair resolution for our students,” said Board of Education President Eric Neal.
“The facts in this case are clear. The majority of students we send to Pleasantville are members of a non-white community, and half of the students we send are categorized as economically disadvantaged, with a disproportionate amount of those students either receiving special education services or who are high school transfers. These students are being stripped of the opportunity for a robust, quality education because of the inconsistent logic applied by the former Commissioner,” said Superintendent Dr. Daniel J. Dooley.
On Tuesday, Jan. 7, attorneys for the Absecon Board of Education presented oral arguments to a three-judge panel of New Jersey’s Appellate Division of Superior Court in Newark, challenging the decision-making process of the former New Jersey commissioner of education in denying the district’s request to sever its send-receive agreement with Pleasantville School District.
Gagliardi said that a decision in the appeal would be likely before the end of the school year. “What we are hoping is that the Appellate Court either reverses the commissioner and allows us to sever the relationship with Pleasantville and send our students to Absegami High School or, in the least, remands the case back to the commissioner to consider our application based upon the actual facts and based upon the law that is traditionally applied,” Gagliardi explained.
During oral arguments, Absecon’s attorneys refocused the Court on the impact of the Commissioner’s ruling on some of Absecon’s most disadvantaged students. The Appellate Division case was heard before Judges Lisa A. Firko, Avis Bishop-Thompson and Lorraine M. Augostini.
If the outcome of the appeal remains unchanged, Absecon Public Schools will submit to have its case heard by the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Absecon Public Schools continues to have the unwavering support of the Mayor, City Council and Greater Egg Harbor Regional school officials.
“This has been a long road and I’m sure some of our citizens are losing faith. This appeal is an important step to show that we’re not done fighting for our children’s futures. Sending our children to Absegami High School will provide them with the diverse, rigorous opportunities that they deserve,” said Absecon Mayor Tom Marrone.
“The Greater Egg Harbor Regional community continues to support Absecon’s petition and is still hopeful that our Absecon neighbors will be able to join us through a new send-receive agreement. We at Greater Egg continually enhance our facilities for our students and communities, as evidenced by approximately $21 million in upgrades at our schools within the last two years, and would love to share all of our resources with the students of Absecon,” said Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School District Superintendent James Reina.