Ocean City Will Not Object to Teaching More Sea Isle Students

The Ocean City Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday in a special meeting not to oppose a potential plan by the state Board of Education to close the Sea Isle City School District.

Sea Isle City already pays tuition to send students in grades 4 to 12 to Ocean City schools. If approved, the plan would close the last school in Sea Isle City and send 23 students from kindergarten through third grade to the .

The Sea Isle City School District will not object to the plan, according to Sea Isle Solicitor Mark Toscano. The state Board of Education likely will make a final decision in June.

If the state closes the Sea Isle School District, the elementary school students would start in Ocean City schools in the fall for the 2012-13 school year.

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Read more about Sea Isle City's request to send its students to Ocean City schools in this FAQ.
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The Ocean City Board of Education voted on the resolution without any discussion, but an expanded send-receive agreement with Sea Isle City would bring additional tuition revenue to the Ocean City district at a time of declining enrollment.

There was no discussion of how the potential agreement might affect class sizes or staffing needs in Ocean City.

The Sea Isle City School District had 185 students in grades K to 8 in the 2001-02 school year, but a steady decline in enrollment left the district with just 67 K-8 students in 2008-09, the last year before middle-schoolers were sent to Ocean City.