Superintendent says county's move of ShareTime Academy will stop new cohorts; district to explore options

The Pequannock Township School District was notified that Morris County VOTEC and the County College of Morris plan to relocate the ShareTime Academy program to a new county facility and will not send a new cohort of students to Pequannock after the current arrangement ends.

"I am, say the least, quite disappointed, that our partners at the county rotational school are choosing this direction," the superintendent said as he described recent agenda items and communications. He told the board the change is consistent with the existing agreement, which expires at the end of the school year, and that current juniors will be allowed to complete the program into their senior year.

Board materials and subsequent discussion identified enrollment counts: 79 ShareTime students between junior and senior year and 40 juniors currently enrolled. The superintendent said the district will continue its full-time academy (which serves district students and Lincoln Park), will explore making the part-time program available to neighboring districts, and will consider tuition-paying students for capacity filling.

Board members asked about the monetary impact and student counts; the superintendent said he would supply those enrollment and fiscal figures to the board. The district stressed that program changes are contractual and that county-level decisions, such as moving a shared vocational program to a county college facility, can affect partner districts even when the program has had positive outcomes.

What happens next: the superintendent will gather enrollment counts and financial implications and will report back to the board. The district said it would explore offers to neighboring districts and possible pathways to maintain opportunities for affected students.