Whitehouse Preparatory School urges Readington board not to cut its preschool from four classrooms to two

At a Readington Township Board of Education meeting, Anthony J. Serra, president of Whitehouse Preparatory School (WPS), told the board he strongly objects to agenda item 3.04, which he said would reduce WPS’s participation in the district’s Preschool Education Aid program from four classrooms to two.

"We do not consent to that," Serra said, telling the board he and the school’s head, Judy Sarah, learned only in a private meeting that the superintendent had recommended the reduction. A letter read into the record on behalf of WPS said the cut would represent a 50% reduction in students and “nearly $500,000,” a loss the school called a serious threat to its viability.

The letter, which Serra asked the board to consider before approving any action, stressed contractual protections. It said the preschool contract requires reductions only for specific reasons — financial mismanagement, classroom quality problems or available in-district classroom space — and requires written notice to the New Jersey Department of Education’s Division of Early Childhood Services and the Department of Children and Families’ Office of Licensing. WPS said none of the contract conditions apply in their case and that the district had not provided the required notice to WPS prior to the board vote.

The superintendent’s office did not dispute that the district must follow contract provisions, but a board speaker said the district has identified in-district space that could be used for preschools and that “that is the rationale behind the letter that the board will be approving tonight.” The board speaker also said the district would include that rationale in the letter to the state agencies.

The transcript does not include a separate, explicit roll-call vote on agenda item 3.04 itself. Board actions recorded publicly later in the meeting show approvals of minutes and several grouped agenda items by roll call, but the meeting record in this transcript does not show the board’s final action on the WPS-specific letter or whether it was authorized as described during the public session.

Why it matters: The Preschool Education Aid program is state-funded and administered through local districts; private providers that participate typically enter annual contracts that set out due-process steps before a district can reduce or alter a provider’s contracted classrooms. A provider’s removal of capacity can affect program continuity for families, the provider’s business model, and the availability of subsidized preschool seats in town.

What WPS told the board: Serra said he was surprised to learn of the recommendation in a meeting with the superintendent that excluded the head of school, who leads the program day-to-day. The letter read into the record asked the board not to authorize any letter to state agencies without first disclosing the basis for the reduction and showing evidence supporting the district’s decision.

What the district said: A board member summarized the district’s rationale as available in-district space, and said that will be the stated basis in the letter to DOE and DCF. The board president said he would respond to the concerns but “not in this forum.”

Next steps: The transcript records continued agenda business and multiple roll-call approvals for grouped agenda items later in the meeting, but it does not record a clear, separate vote approving the letter referenced by WPS. The transcript indicates WPS remains prepared to pursue contractual remedies, including litigation, if necessary, and asked the board to delay or reject any authorization until the district has fully disclosed its basis and followed contractual notice procedures.

This account is drawn from public comments and the letter read into the meeting record by Whitehouse Preparatory School and the board’s public response as recorded in the meeting transcript.