Middletown School Board Approves Closing Two Elementary Schools After Hours of Public Protest

The Middletown Township Board of Education voted on March 2 to approve a resolution authorizing the closure of Leonardo Elementary School and Navisinc (Navisique) Elementary School and to submit required assurances and approvals to the New Jersey Division of Administration and Finance and the Monmouth County Executive County Superintendent.

The decision came after a motion to amend the agenda to add resolution 9c, extended discussion by board members about planning and oversight, and more than three hours of public comment in which students, parents, teachers and community organizers urged the board to delay any vote until the district produced a detailed, data-driven transition plan.

The majority of public speakers opposed the closures, citing potential overcrowding at remaining middle schools, insufficient special-education accommodations, uncosted transportation and construction expenses, and what some called a lack of transparency in the district's process. "For me, school has never been easy... Then this year, I came to Bay Shore, and for the first time in my entire life, I finally felt accepted," said sixth grader Benjamin Hagg, who identified himself as autistic. "I'm thinking about my life. I'm thinking about the first place that ever felt like home."

Parents and organized neighborhood groups presented survey results and arguments that combining schools would push Thompson and Thorne middle schools well past functional capacity and would create operational strains on cafeterias, hallways, special-education service delivery and extracurricular programs. "We will not accept a vote without a real plan," said Kristen Bernie, a River Plaza parent who spoke for a coalition calling for more transparent data and phased planning.

Teachers and special-education advocates asked the board for concrete answers about IEP compliance, pull-out services, small-group testing space, and related-service delivery if multiple special-education programs were centralized. The Thorne PTA president urged site visits and a transition plan designed "through a special education lens," saying some services require multiple, dedicated rooms to operate safely and legally.

At least one public speaker raised conflict-of-interest concerns, citing campaign contributions and vendor relationships and urging an independent forensic audit of certain district expenditures and contracts. The board did not revise the resolution in response to those allegations at the meeting. Community members repeatedly requested a clear, line-by-line financial plan that accounts for construction, conversion and added transportation costs; one parent cited a district facilities estimate of $2.6 million to update bathrooms alone.

Board members debated several procedural motions during the meeting, including efforts to table, to reject, and to substitute alternate directions to the administration. After the discussion the board took a roll-call vote on resolution 9c; the chair announced the motion passed. The transcript records a recorded roll-call vote and the chair declaring the motion passed; individual vote entries are recorded in the meeting minutes and transcript. The resolution directs the administration to submit required assurances to state and county authorities related to school closure approvals.

The board also approved routine calendar adjustments and other consent items earlier in the meeting. Members discussed sending representatives to an upcoming shared-services meeting with the township to request pilot funds and to revisit municipal contributions for school police officers as a possible offset to district expenses.

What happens next: Under New Jersey practice, the county superintendent reviews district submissions related to school closures and can request additional information; residents at the meeting were urged to file appeals and ethics complaints and to contact the Monmouth County superintendent if they believed the district's submission lacked adequate evidence. Several public speakers said they plan to pursue administrative appeals and potential litigation.

The board's action marks a significant shift in Middletown's planning for addressing projected budget gaps; community members and staff made clear during public comment that they expect detailed financials, a phased transition timetable and explicit plans to protect special-education services before implementation.