Township of Marlboro v. Board of Education of Freehold Regional High School

992 F. Supp. 756, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1262, 1998 WL 46879
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedFebruary 4, 1998
DocketCivil Action No. 97-5401
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 992 F. Supp. 756 (Township of Marlboro v. Board of Education of Freehold Regional High School) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Township of Marlboro v. Board of Education of Freehold Regional High School, 992 F. Supp. 756, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1262, 1998 WL 46879 (D.N.J. 1998).

Opinion

OPINION

WOLIN, District Judge.

The issues presented by this declaratory judgment action demonstrate how application of a constitutional principle in a doctrinaire manner, while promoting one community interest, will disserve a competing community interest. At stake is the application of the “one-person, one-vote” principle to a limited regional school board. While the passage of time and the shift of population mandates a weighted vote, the implementation of that vote must hot eliminate the meaningful dialogue that has permitted this regional school district and its constituent municipalities to achieve a standard of formidable success.

While the Court will declare N.J. Stat. Ann. 18A:13-8 unconstitutional as applied to the Freehold Regional High School District (“District”), it is unwilling to apportion the votes in the manner suggested by the plaintiffs, an apportionment that would deprive five of the eight municipalities an equal voice in the District’s affairs.

In the interim, the Court will call upon the New Jersey State Legislature to implement a weighted voting measure that satisfies con[758]*758stitutional precepts and is fundamentally fair to all concerned. Because a legislative resolution requires a period of reflection and is incapable of an immediate answer, the Court will request that the Commissioner of Education or his designee at this time apportion the weighted vote.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This case is before the Court on cross-motions for summary judgment. All of the parties agree that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that the issues presented may be resolved as a matter of law. Because the Complaints of the Township of Marlboro and the Township of Manalapan were independently filed and contain claims and relief that are mirror images of each other, the Court for purposes of expediency will consolidate them. Moreover, the Court will grant Colts Neck’s motion to intervene.

BACKGROUND

This case arises out of a civil dispute between the plaintiffs the Township of Marlboro, Marcus, Greenstein, the Township of Manalapan, Bachman, and the defendants the Board of Education of the Freehold Regional High School, Maddaluna, and Klagholz.

Creation of the District

By the authority of N.J. Stat. Ann. 18A:13-8,1 the District was formed in 1954. (See Moskovitz O.T.S.C. Cert. ¶ 2.) In accordance with the governing law at that time, approval of the formation of the District was required by the residents of each town. (See District Undisputed Facts ¶ 3.) “The public referendum on this issue received a[sic] overwhelming majority of votes in each” town. (Id.) The municipalities of Englishtown Borough, Howell Township, Manalapan, Freehold Township, Freehold Borough, Farmingdale Borough, and Colts Neck Township, all located in Monmouth County, joined with Marlboro, a municipal corporation also located in Monmouth County, New Jersey, to form the District for the purpose of creating public high schools for the education of the eight municipalities’ residents.2 (See Complaint ¶ 1.) The District agreed to locate the regional school in the Borough of Freehold, using the present site and existing facilities. (See Saylor Aff. Exh. F (Committee Report issued after a 11/14/52 Committee meeting).) Each municipality contributed to the purchase of the site and existing high school. (See id) In order to house all the students in the regional area, the District envisioned a school of at least double the facilities of the Freehold High School. (See id) The school districts comprising the regional school districts all bore a proportionate share of the debt service. (See id.)

In 1952, Freehold Borough represented 43% of the student population, and the remaining municipalities represented 57% of the student population. (See District Br. at 9.) These percentages would change as the other municipalities developed. (See id.)

The Board is comprised of nine members. (See Complaint ¶ 11.) In accordance with the New Jersey statutes then in effect, each municipality was required to have at least one member. (See District Br. at 10 (citing N.J. Stat. Ann. 18:8-5).) The Court notes that the statute did not mandate one vote for each member. Notwithstanding the statute’s silence as to the right to vote, the District’s residents were “advised that each munieipali[759]*759ty would elect at least one representative with one vote to the Board.” (See id. (citation omitted).) Each Board member’s vote is currently given equal weight. (See Plfs.’ O.T.S.C. Memo at 3.) Operation of all public schools in Monmouth County, including the District, is overseen by defendant Maddaluna, the Monmouth County Superintendent of Schools. (See Complaint ¶5.) As the Commissioner of Education, Klagholz is, and at all relevant times, was responsible for the administration of all New Jersey public schools. (See id. ¶ 6.)

Each of the eight municipalities which form the District is deemed a district, and each municipality elects one member to the Board. However, because the largest population of the eight towns belongs to Howell Township, the ninth seat is also occupied by a representative from Howell Township. (See Moskovitz O.T.S.C. Cert. ¶3.) In her certification, Harriet M. Strickler, Principal Planner of the Monmouth County Planning Board’s Demographies Publication Section, sets forth that the total population of the eight towns comprising the District is 140,-418. (See id. ¶ 4.) According to the 1990 federal census, the population of each district, and the commensurate percentages of the total population, of the District is as follows:

Howell Township 38,987 27.8%
Marlboro 27,974 19.9%
Manalapan 26,716 19.0%
Freehold Township 24,710 17.6%
Freehold Borough 10,742 7.7%
Colts Neck Township 8,559 6.1%
Farmingdale Borough 1,462 1.0%
Englishtown Borough 1,268 0.9%

(See Complaint ¶ 13; Moskovitz O.T.S.C. Cert. ¶ 5.) With the exception of Howell Township, each of the towns has one representative despite the above divergent percentages. (See Moskovitz O.T.S.C. Cert. ¶ 6.) “Projected estimates for 1997 indicate that the proportion of the total population of the eight towns remains reasonably steady from 1990, except that Marlboro has a mathematically increased percentage and Freehold Borough has a mathematically decreased percentage.” (Strickler O.T.S.C. Cert. ¶ 5.) Marlboro’s percentage of population has increased to 20.8%, Freehold Township’s percentage of population has increased to 18.1%, and Manalapan’s percentage has increased to 19.1%, while Freehold Borough’s percentage of population has decreased to 6.5%, and Farmingdale’s percentage has decreased to 0.9%. (See Moskovitz O.T.S.C. Cert. ¶ 7.)

With the exception of Howell’s 22% of the voting power, each of the eight towns has a voting power on the Board of 11%, notwithstanding the wide differences in percentage of population. (See id.

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992 F. Supp. 756, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1262, 1998 WL 46879, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/township-of-marlboro-v-board-of-education-of-freehold-regional-high-school-njd-1998.