Editing Long Beach Township, New Jersey (section)

== Education ==
For [[pre-kindergarten]] through [[sixth grade]], public school students attend the [[Long Beach Island Consolidated School District]], which serves students from [[Barnegat Light, New Jersey|Barnegat Light]], [[Harvey Cedars, New Jersey|Harvey Cedars]], Long Beach Township, [[Ship Bottom, New Jersey|Ship Bottom]] and [[Surf City, New Jersey|Surf City]].<ref name=DataBook/><ref>LAN Associates. [http://lbisd.schoolfusion.us/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/475044/File/Study/2000402_Report.pdf Study of School Consolidation Long Beach Island, New Jersey] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927220734/http://lbisd.schoolfusion.us/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/475044/File/Study/2000402_Report.pdf |date=2013-09-27 }}, Long Beach Island Consolidated School District, January 21, 2011. Accessed September 25, 2013. "The Long Beach Island Consolidated School District serves the needs of the citizens of Long Beach Island including the communities of Barnegat Light Borough, Long Beach Township, Harvey Cedars Borough, Surf City Borough, and Ship Bottom Borough. The remaining community of Beach Haven at the south end of the island currently has its own school. The Long Beach Island Consolidated Schools serve children from the age of pre-school through sixth grade after which the students attend Southern Regional High School in Manahawkin."</ref><ref>[https://www.straussesmay.com/seportal/Public/DistrictPolicy.aspx?policyid=0110&id=32c838feaa2f45539975a6d37caaabfd Long Beach Island Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification], Long Beach Island Consolidated School District. Accessed July 4, 2022. "Purpose The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Pre-Kindergarten through six in the Long Beach Island School District. Composition The Long Beach Island School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Barnegat Light, Harvey Cedars, Long Beach Township, Ship Bottom, and Surf City."</ref> As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of two schools, had an enrollment of 215 students and 30.7 classroom teachers (on an [[full-time equivalent|FTE]] basis), for a [[student–teacher ratio]] of 7.0:1.<ref name=NCES>[https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_detail.asp?Search=2&details=1&ID2=3408910&DistrictID=3408910 District information for Long Beach Island Consolidated School District], [[National Center for Education Statistics]]. Accessed February 15, 2022.</ref> Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the [[National Center for Education Statistics]]<ref>[https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3408910 School Data for the Long Beach Island School District], [[National Center for Education Statistics]]. Accessed November 1, 2019.</ref>) are 
Ethel Jacobsen School<ref>[https://www.lbischools.org/domain/17 Ethel Jacobsen School], Long Beach Island Consolidated School District. Accessed July 4, 2022.</ref> in Surf City with 111 students in pre-kindergarten to second grade and 
Long Beach Island Grade School<ref>[https://www.lbischools.org/domain/18 Long Beach Island Grade School], Long Beach Island Consolidated School District. Accessed July 4, 2022.</ref> in Ship Bottom with 125 students in grades 3–6.<ref>[https://www.co.ocean.nj.us/WebContentFiles/edccc918-3b07-4550-b248-edc5434cdafe.pdf#page=45 ''Public Schools Directory 2020–2022''], [[Ocean County, New Jersey]]. Accessed July 1, 2022.</ref><ref>[https://rc.doe.state.nj.us/selectreport/2022-2023/29/2760 School Performance Reports for the Long Beach Island Consolidated School District], [[New Jersey Department of Education]]. Accessed April 1, 2024.</ref><ref>[https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/school/districtid/2760 New Jersey School Directory for the Long Beach Island Consolidated School District], [[New Jersey Department of Education]]. Accessed February 1, 2024.</ref> The district's board of education is comprised of nine members who are directly elected from the constituent municipalities on a staggered basis, with three members elected each year.<ref>[https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/dwb/DistrictByTypeList2018.pdf New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election], [[New Jersey Department of Education]], updated February 16, 2018. Accessed January 26, 2020.</ref><ref>[https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/cafr/search/21/2760.pdf#page=59 ''Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the Long Beach Island Consolidated School District''], [[New Jersey Department of Education]], June 30, 2021. Accessed July 4, 2022. "The School District is a Type II district located in the County of Ocean, State of New Jersey. As a Type II district, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education. The Board is comprised of nine members appointed to three-year terms. These terms are staggered so that three members' terms expire each year. The District provides a full range of educational services appropriate to grades levels kindergarten through 6th grade."</ref> Of the nine seats, four are elected from Long Beach Township.<ref>[https://www.thesandpaper.net/articles/four-on-ballot-for-lbi-school-board/ "Four on Ballot for LBI School Board"], The SandPaper, October 23, 2019. Accessed July 4, 2022. "The LBI school board is comprised of nine members, four from Long Beach Township, two from Surf City, and one each from Ship Bottom, Harvey Cedars and Barnegat Light."</ref>

Students in public school for [[seventh grade|seventh]] through [[twelfth grade]]s attend the [[Southern Regional School District]], which serves the five municipalities in the Long Beach Island Consolidated School District, along with students from [[Beach Haven, New Jersey|Beach Haven]] and [[Stafford Township, New Jersey|Stafford Township]], as well as students from [[Ocean Township, Ocean County, New Jersey|Ocean Township]] (including its [[Waretown, New Jersey|Waretown]] section) who attend as part of a [[sending/receiving relationship]].<ref name=DataBook/><ref>[http://www.nj.gov/education/pr/1415/narrative/29/4950/050.html Southern Regional High School 2015 Report Card Narrative], [[New Jersey Department of Education]]. Accessed June 2, 2016. "Located in Manahawkin, the Southern Regional School District draws from the constituent districts of Long Beach Township, Beach Haven, Surf City, Ship Bottom, Barnegat Light, Harvey Cedars and Stafford Township, as well as the tuition sending district of Ocean Township (Waretown).</ref><ref>[https://www.srsd.net/AboutUs/ About Us], Southern Regional School District. Accessed July 4, 2022. "Our school is a 7-12 comprehensive regional high school district. Our middle school covers grades 7-8 and our high school covers grades 9-12. The district is comprised of the constituent members of Stafford Township, Beach Haven, Long Beach Township, (which includes the municipalities{{sic}} of Loveladies, North Beach, High Bar Harbor and Brant Beach and Long Beach Township) Barnegat Light, Harvey Cedars, Ship Bottom, and Surf City. Waretown is our sending district."</ref> Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the [[National Center for Education Statistics]]<ref>[https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3415480 School Data for the Southern Regional School District], [[National Center for Education Statistics]]. Accessed February 15, 2022.</ref>) are 
Southern Regional Middle School<ref>[https://www.srsd.net/MiddleSchool/ Southern Regional Middle School], Southern Regional School District. Accessed July 4, 2022.</ref> with 902 students in grades 7–8 and 
[[Southern Regional High School]]<ref>[https://www.srsd.net/HighSchool/ Southern Regional High School], Southern Regional School District. Accessed July 4, 2022.</ref> with 1,975 students in grades 9–12.<ref>[https://rc.doe.state.nj.us/selectreport/2022-2023/29/4950 School Performance Reports for the Southern Regional School District], [[New Jersey Department of Education]]. Accessed April 1, 2024.</ref><ref>[https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/school/districtid/4950 New Jersey School Directory for the Southern Regional School District], [[New Jersey Department of Education]]. Accessed February 1, 2024.</ref> Both schools are in the [[Manahawkin, New Jersey|Manahawkin]] section of Stafford Township.

At the time of its founding in 1957, the Southern Regional School District had a roughly equal number of students from Long Beach Island and Stafford Township. By 2016, the overwhelming majority of students were from Stafford Township, accounting for nearly 90% of enrollment. These demographic changes have led to significant discrepancies in the cost per pupil sent to the district from each community, with Harvey Cedars and Long Beach Township paying more than $200,000 per pupil, while Stafford Township's costs are $3,600 for each student. These widely different costs result from a formula that uses the taxable property value in each municipality to apportion costs, which means that municipalities with relatively high property values and small numbers of students pay a higher share of total district costs. Some residents of Long Beach Island communities are seeking to amend the formula to take advantage of a 1993 law that allows districts to use both property value and enrollment to allocate property taxes, though that would require passage of referendums in each municipality.<ref>Brody, Leslie. [https://www.wsj.com/articles/regional-schools-uneven-per-pupil-costs-get-scrutiny-1454361889 "Regional Schools' Uneven Per-Pupil Costs Get Scrutiny; In some areas of New Jersey, towns pay far more than others, per student, for the same education"], ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', February 1, 2016. Accessed January 31, 2017. "Back when the Southern Regional district opened in 1957, there were almost as many students from Long Beach Island as Stafford. 'I don't think anybody saw the demographics would change as drastically as they did,' Mr. Henry says. Now 263 students from Long Beach Island attend the district for grades seven through 12, along with 2,263 from Stafford, according to data the state uses to calculate payments."</ref>

St. Mary Academy near [[Manahawkin, New Jersey|Manahawkin]]<!--Has a Manahawkin postal address but is outside the CDP-->, a [[K–8 school]] of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton]], is in the area. From 1997,<ref name=MaryRenameArch>{{cite web|url=https://dioceseoftrenton.org/news/all-saints-regional-school-to-become-st-mary-academy|title=All Saints Regional school to become St. Mary Academy under administration of Barnegat parish |publisher=[[Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton]]|date=2018-12-19|access-date=2020-06-23}}</ref> until 2019 it operated as All Saints Regional Catholic School and was collectively managed by five churches,<ref name=Heyboerall>{{cite web|author=Heyboer, Kelly|url=https://www.nj.com/news/2019/06/these-are-all-the-nj-catholic-schools-closing-and-merging-this-year.html|title=These are all the N.J. Catholic schools closing and merging this year|newspaper=[[Nj.com]]|date=2019-06-11|access-date=2020-06-23}}</ref> with one being St. Francis of Assisi Church in Brant Beach.<ref name=MaryRenameArch/> In 2019, St. Mary Church in [[Barnegat, New Jersey|Barnegat]] took entire control of the school, which remained on the same Manahawkin campus, and changed its name. The other churches no longer operate the school but still may send students there.<ref name=Heyboerall/>