Council joins effort to change law on Earle kids
Boro wants Senate bill passed to reflect contract with Navy
BY MELISSA KARSH Staff Writer

TINTON FALLS - The Borough Council has stepped up to join the Board of Education's campaign to save residents from paying more in taxes each year to educate children who do not reside in the borough.

Under an agreement with the Navy, the borough has been educating children of Navy personnel living at Naval Weapons Station (NWS) Earle since 1988. But a new proposal to privatize housing on the base would hold the borough responsible for educating those non- Navy dependent children who would also be living on the federal property in Colts Neck at the expense of taxpayers.

"This is not a school board issue. Their [Colts Neck] mayor and council know the huge impact that will happen to their township and school district. We've been fighting the fight and now we are here … to work with the council to fight this fight because this fight is about our borough and our schools and they are not separable," said BOE President Peter Karavites.

Karavites, school district Business Administrator Tamar Sydney-Gens and new Superintendent John Russo all appeared before the Borough Council Nov. 27 to ask that members join them in their ongoing effort to lobby legislators to move forward a Senate bill sponsored by state Sen. Ellen Karcher (D-12).

Karcher, who lost her seat in the November election, sponsored the measure to correct current legislation to reflect the contract between the borough and the Navy, which stipulates the borough will educate those children of Navy personnel living on NWS Earle.

Karcher's Assembly counterpart, Michael Panter, who lost his seat to a Republican challenger, sponsored a similar bill in the Assembly, which passed earlier this year.

According to Borough Council President Michael Skudera, in a Nov. 14 e-mail, "If the state Senate bill is not passed by the end of this year, both the Assembly and Senate bills will expire and the process will need to start over again."

"The documentation that Tinton Falls BOE signed 18 years ago all state Navy children," said Karavites at the council meeting.

Karavites summarized a presentation that he and the rest of the BOE had given to a packed house of more than 300 people the night before at Mahala F. Atchison School, 961 Sycamore Ave., about the implications of civilian housing at NWS Earle. "Three hundred to 500 more children in our already crowded school will equal cutting of programs, higher taxes, building referendums that this town does not deserve because these children live in Colts Neck," said Karavites.

He added, while the BOE supports Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck's (R-12) opposition to civilian housing at NWS Earle, "It is a Tinton Falls/Colts Neck issue! Colts Neck has known about this for the past 18 years, they've been working on it for the last four years, they hid it from us."

"It's time that this council steps up and really supports the BOE and continue to share the fight," said Councilman Paul Ford. "I encourage us to do every method that we can to get the message out. We need to pull out the stops. We need to get on the phones. It is that critical to our town that we have to fight this fight. It's a no-brainer in my opinion and we need to continue to fight this."

Karavites explained previously that 18 years ago, Colts Neck sued the U.S. Navy because the township no longer wanted to educate the children of Navy personnel in its school district.

Tinton Falls agreed to take the students in return for impact aid, which, according to Karavites, was a couple of million dollars.

On average, the school district gets around $2,400 for each of about 90 military (U.S. Navy dependents) children, but it costs around $12,000 to educate a student in Tinton Falls, said Karavites.

According to the Tinton Falls BOE, the government does not pay a fair share cost of educating military children.

"In 2007 alone Colts Neck has received over $750,000 in impact aid, without educating one child. Tinton Falls has received $160,000 for educating 90 children," said Karavites. "Since 1994 Colts Neck has received over $5.5 million in impact aid without educating one child."

According to the BOE Web site, "The Tinton Falls School District will not receive any impact aid for nonmilitary (civilian) children who reside on this federal property. Based on the law as it is currently written, the Tinton Falls School District is required to continue to educate these civilians at the physical and financial expense of our taxpayers."

At the Nov. 27 council meeting, Karavites explained more in-depth about the history of NWS Earle legislation and what he deemed a "wording mistake."

Karavites said when the state law was changed in 1988 to allow Navy dependent children living on NWS Earle in Colts Neck to attend Tinton Falls schools; the law was changed to say "children living on federal property" and not Navy dependent children.

"The gentleman who wrote this piece of legislation was John O. Bennett III. At that point John O. Bennett III was also the attorney for Colts Neck and their school board and wrote this legislation," said Karavites. "In 1988 this was done and who wrote the legislation to [read] children living on federal property? The attorney for Colts Neck."

Karavites also said that the BOE found out six months ago that Colts Neck and the Navy knew about the possibility of civilian housing on the base since 1988 and in 2002 the Navy started working with Colts Neck on access roads for the civilian housing.

"So this idea that Colts Neck was shocked that this was going to happen is simply not true. This happened; they knew it was going to happen all along. They were shocked when the Tinton Falls school board said wait a minute our contract says Navy students not civilians," said Karavites.

He added, "This housing will be public just like anywhere else. It's going to be called Laurelwoods. It is for anybody to live there. [Colts Neck is] going to use 118 units, demolished units, from NWS Earle to do their third round COAH (Council on Affordable Housing) obligation."

Karavites also cleared the air about reports that he said called the borough unpatriotic.

"We are not kicking out Navy children. We are welcoming them. Our district has educated 4,866 Navy children proudly," said Karavites, who added that there are more than 95 Navy children currently being educated within the school district.

Other implications for borough schools include cutting school programs that are not mandated by the state like kindergarten, courtesy bussing, after school programs, sports programs and art and music classes.

According to Karavites, if the district found it necessary to hold a $12 million bond referendum, based on last year's figures, that would result in a $200 per year tax increase for a Tinton Falls resident whose house is assessed at $200,000, every year for the next 30 years. He said that number does not include staffing, heating and insurance, which would also translate into a tax rate.

Skudera added, "The bottom line is if the efforts fail to close the housing and the state legislation is not passed, Tinton Falls pays and Colts Neck gets the rewards. How is that right?

"In the past the town government and the school board have worked together, not at this level though. I'm glad the town government and school board are working together and even more so at this very important time. We have to make sure this legislation is passed because this will affect every single taxpayer in Tinton Falls."