TheTOMS RIVER Times Vol. 15 - No. 38
In This Week’s Edition
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
Curtain Opens For Performing Arts Academy
New Pols: Future Of Town Is Underway
Community News! Pages 11-15
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News Page 20
Dear Pharmacist Page 21
Wolfgang Puck Page 35
BREAKING NEWS @
jerseyshoreonline.com
–Photo by Bob Vosseller Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari speaks with students of the newly opened Performing Arts Academy located within Ocean County College. By Bob Vosseller TOMS RIVER – They arrived by bus and car and entered with excitement for their first day of class in the brand new Ocean Cou nt y Vocational Technical School Pe r for m i ng Arts Academy building. It wasn’t just the stu-
dents that were excited about the state-of-theart facility but administrators, staff, OCVTS Board of Education members and elected officials. The building is on the campus of Ocean County College in Toms River. It provides a showcase for those seeking
careers in several areas of the performing arts. It also provides college credits and a modern, safe environment that Freeholder Director Joseph Vicari proudly said equals anything available in the northern part of the state. “I’ve been in education as a teacher, princi-
pal and superintendent for 40 years and this is remarkable. It is state of the art and students will feel inspired to be attending class here,” Vicari said. Vicari couldn’t wait for the students to arrive or staff and administrators to provide (OCVTS - See Page 4)
Schools Demand Reasons For Aid Cuts
By Chris Lundy BRICK – A coalition of school districts are asking the state to explain why they are getting less aid. The districts are impacted by S-2, which changed how much “adjustment aid” schools receive from the state. Districts that were considered more wealthy, with declining enroll-
ment, received less aid. Districts have said that they are the victim of funding formulas that are outdated or full of mistakes. Individual districts and reporters have attempted to get an explanation of how this funding was doled out. The state said that the information was “proprietary” and not open to the public.
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Several local boards of education passed resolutions stating they’ll join in the OPRA (Open Public Records Act) request. Part of Brick’s resolution reads “the State arbitrarily determines how much State Aid to allocate to each school district, without regard to district need or ability to pay…and such dispa-
rate treatment is neither “equal” nor “equitable” and is without a rational basis; and whe rea s, t he St at e should be transparent in how it calculates and allocates State Aid to each school district.” In the event the request is denied, the board may join in litigation against the “State of New Jersey, Department of Educa-
tion and the Commissioner of Education to obtain data and records from the State of New Jersey and its various Departments as to how the State calculates and allocates State Aid to each school district.” Districts have already jointly recruited the Weiner Law Group to represent them in this (School - See Page 10)
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By Chris Lundy TOMS RIVER – The new members of the governing body were sworn in, and said that they already started working on town issues. At the township’s re-organization meeting, the politicians who won the November election were sworn in: Mayor Maurice Hill and Councilmen Kevin Geoghegan, Joshua Kopp, and Matthew Lotano. They thanked their supporters, family, and friends for believing in them. They also said that their work in helping the community started before they were sworn in. As Kopp said, they spent the last eight months listening to people and the needs of Toms River. Lotano described how they’ve been invited to sit in on some meetings to get more information about the issues that Toms River is facing. And they are facing a lot, Hill said in his first public address as mayor. The residents are feeling the impact of a change in state funding that is cutting more than $90 million in aid to the school district, he said. (Future - See Page 8)
Politician Faced 3 Different Protests
By Bob Vosseller TOMS RIVER - New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney got a loud reception when he arrived at The Grove Restaurant in the Howard Johnson’s motel on the morning of January 7. It was not, however, the kind of reception he may have appreciated. Sweeney came to the township as the scheduled guest of the Ocean County Mayors Association. Three groups of protesters came out to voice their frustration over the issues of school funding cuts, a vaccinations bill and the continuation of a bear hunt in the state. Sweeney’s appearance was noted on the association’s website. The association invites all 33 municipalities in Ocean County and regularly meets at The Grove restaurant on 955 Hooper Ave. Protestors began lining up in front of the (Protests - See Page 10)
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