Consolidation Of Oaklyn K-9 Schools Still Possible

OAKLYN, NJ — Gov. Phil Murphy now seems to be on board with a plan that could lead to the elimination of nearly 300 New Jersey school districts, including the Oaklyn K-9 Public School District.

Murphy gave $10 million to New Jersey communities this past week to help promote shared services and study school consolidation. Of that, the governor agreed to set aside $2 million specifically for K-12 regionalization and countywide school district pilots. Read more here: Big Move On Plan To Eliminate Nearly 300 NJ School Districts

The money would back up an effort started by Senate President Steve Sweeney who has been pitching a 32-recommendation "Path to Progress" plan that he, 26 analysts and so-called experts helped draw up last year.

The Oaklyn K-9 School District was initially listed for possible consolidation but in June, Murphy cut $38 million from $48 million that had been set aside for a school consolidation study. It accounts for 80 percent of what had been set aside for the study. Read more here: Murphy Deals Blow To Plan That Could Nix Oaklyn K-9 Schools

Now Murphy has set aside money for the plan, which includes merging nearly 300 school districts to save the state money.

“The goal is to eliminate the administration, put a principal in the school, get rid of the school district, leave a principal, let the regional high school become a K-12 district,” Sweeney said. “You go from 600 districts to 320.”

Sweeney acknowledged that his school consolidation plan would be unpopular, but he also believes that it could provide the state an additional $1 billion.

The Oaklyn Public School District is among the districts named on the list. It is the only district in the state that uses a K-9 format. Students in 6th-12th grades attend the Collingswood middle and high schools, which are not listed among the districts that may disappear.

The plan proposes merging all K-4, K-5, K-6, K-8, and K-9 school districts into K-12 regional districts to improve the quality of education and promote efficiency. It also calls for the establishment of two countywide school district pilot programs.

See related:

Proposed Legislation Could Eliminate Oaklyn K-9 Schools
Consolidation Still Possible For Oaklyn Schools
Oaklyn Public School District May Disappear Under New State Plan