South Hunterdon Regional School District is a regional

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...

serving students in

pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called Pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

though

twelfth grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

s from three communities in southern

Hunterdon County Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 128,947, making it the state's 18th-most populous county,New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States. The district was established for the 2014–15 school year by consolidating the K-6 districts for Lambertville, Stockton and

West Amwell Township West Amwell Township is a township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 3,840, reflecting an increase of 1,457 (+61.1%) from the 2,383 counted in the 2000 Census, wh ...

together with

South Hunterdon Regional High School South Hunterdon Regional High School is a regional state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school serving students in seventh though twelfth grades from three communities in southern Hunterdon County, New Jersey, Hunt ...

to create a K-12 district. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprising three schools, had an enrollment of 925 students and 108.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio Student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio is the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students ...

of 8.6:1.District information for South Hunterdon Regional School District

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance ...

. Accessed April 1, 2020.

History

In a special election held in September 2013, voters from Lambertville, Stockton and West Amwell Township passed referendums to dissolve the South Hunterdon Regional High School District and to combine the three existing school districts from each municipality (

Lambertville City School District The Lambertville City School District is a defunct community public school district that served students in preschool through sixth grade from Lambertville, in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2014-15 school year, the scho ...

Stockton Borough School District The Stockton Borough School District was a community public school district that served students in pre-Kindergarten through sixth grade from Stockton, in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2014-15 school year, the school is p ...

and

West Amwell Township School District The West Amwell Township School District was a community public school district that served students in pre-Kindergarten through sixth grade from West Amwell Township, in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. The district's school is now par ...

), with majorities in each community passing both ballot items. A single combined regional district was created, serving students in PreK-12, with property taxes levied under a formula in which 57% is based on property values and 43% on the number of students. The executive county superintendent appointed an interim board of education for the new regional district, which was responsible for implementing the merger. A study commissioned by the district prepared by McKissick Associates looked at options for using, modifying and expanding school facilities in the district, in light of long-term trends indicating a decline in the number of school-aged children in the three municipalities. In a February 2016, a presentation prepared for the Board of Education outlined various scenarios, which could involve options ranging from retaining all existing facilities to consolidating all schools at a single site. After reviewing a matrix of all 10 options and weighing each on several factors identified as relevant, committee members ranked the choices; based on committee votes, the three preferred choices were (1) to keep K-5 students in Lambertville and West Amwell, while moving 6th grade to the high school complex, (2) keeping all facilities at their present locations with equity additions as needed and (3) a consolidated K-12 at a single site. Stockton Borough Elementary School, which had seen a dramatic decline in enrollment, was closed at the end of the 2017–18 school year. A November 2021 referendum allocating $33 million for construction projects passed by a two-vote margin. Voters in Lambertville and Stockton voted strongly in favor of the project, overcoming strong opposition from West Amwell Township voters. Renovations and expansion to Lambertville Public School will run $12.7 million and a new middle school for grades 5-8 will be constructed on the high school campus at a cost of $20.7 million.

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the

) are: ;Elementary schools *Lambertville Public School with 225 students in grades PreK-6 *West Amwell School with 224 students in grades K-6 ;High school *

with 458 students in grades 7-12

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are: *Dr. Louis Muenker, Superintendent *Kerry Sevilis, Business Administrator / Board Secretary

Board of education

The district's

board of education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

, with nine 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 three seats up for election each year held (since 2014) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the day-to-day operation of the district.Board Members and Committees
South Hunterdon Regional School District. Accessed June 29, 2020.

References

External links

South Hunterdon Regional School District
*
School Data for the South Hunterdon Regional School District

{{Hunterdon County, New Jersey School Districts Lambertville, New Jersey Stockton, New Jersey West Amwell Township, New Jersey 2014 establishments in New Jersey School districts established in 2014 School districts in Hunterdon County, New Jersey