Phillipsburg to administer program for at-risk students currently served at state-run school

PHILLIPSBURG | The Phillipsburg School District is preparing to open its doors in September to teenage moms and other at-risk students following the closure of a state-run program in Mansfield Township.

As the state looks to stop providing services at 18 such regional schools, Phillipsburg is crafting its own program for the district's students being served at the Transitional Education Center facility on Route 57 in Mansfield Township, Phillipsburg schools Superintendent Mark B. Miller said.

Warren Hills Regional School District, the only other local school district sending students to the state program, plans to transfer its students to Phillipsburg, Warren County schools Superintendent Kevin Brennan said.

"I'm pleased with where we're going with this," Brennan said.

Between 10 and 12 students from the two school districts are expected to participate in the Phillipsburg program, which is set to be housed in three classrooms behind Green Street School, Miller said.

Two classrooms are to be used for instruction and the third space is slated to become a nursery, he said. Phillipsburg had run a similar program, Miller said, but he was unsure when it ceased.

The program is slated to provide basic instruction according to each student's needs to prepare for high school graduation as well as offer parenting and other life skills, Brennan said.

Students also could transition back to mainstream classrooms, Miller added.

Savings expected

By using its own facilities and existing employees, Phillipsburg is eyeing significant savings from the move. Phillipsburg and Warren Hills Regional school districts now pay tuition to the state.

Phillipsburg schools Business Administrator William Bauer said the district could save $330,000 and receive $120,000 in tuition for outside students.

Warren Hills Regional Superintendent Peter Merluzzi did not return a call for comment.

After several years of declining enrollment, the state is transferring responsibility for educating about 560 students at its regional schools across New Jersey to county and local school districts, said Kate Bernyk, spokeswoman for the state Department of Children and Families.

The regional schools serve both at-risk students as well as individuals with severe disabilities, Bernyk said.

Students are expected to transition around the end of August out of nine regional schools, including the one in Mansfield Township, Bernyk said. Students at the remaining nine schools will be transferred by the end of June 2010, she said.

Jobs affected by closure

The regional schools employ 400 full-time employees and 100 part-timers, including 14 full-time and one part-time staffer at the Mansfield school, Bernyk said. Workers could be laid off or find state jobs or positions in other local districts, she said.

The department is ending its programs to focus on its mission of child protection and child welfare as well as in response to the reduced enrollment, Bernyk said.

Because local school districts have the capacity to handle such students, the number of severely disabled students at the regional schools has dropped from 700 to 250 over the last eight years, she said.

By comparison, 7,000 students with severe disabilities are being served within the public education system, leading to duplicated services, she said.

Meetings with individual parents are being scheduled to review the specific needs of each student, Bernyk said.

"This is going to be very individualized," Bernyk said.

---