Red Bank Charter School saved for five more years after local district, council fought it

RED BANK - The Red Bank Charter School was granted a five-year renewal by the New Jersey Department of Education, bringing relief to parents concerned after the Borough Council and local school board urged the state to reject it. 

In a statement on its website, the Charter School wrote, “For 23 years, Red Bank Charter School has provided our diverse families with an excellent, student-centered academic experience and is a part of the educational fabric in Red Bank. Red Bank Charter School is here to stay and will continue to provide a much needed public school option for many years to come.” 

The Charter School’s renewal had kicked up controversy late last year when the Red Bank Board of Education passed a resolution asking the state Department of Education to deny the Charter School’s renewal and the Borough Council passed a resolution to support the Board of Education’s request.           

“The pickup today at the charter school was a mutual feeling amongst all the children and the parents that was absolutely palpable. A feeling of joy and relief,” said Matthew Taetsch, a parent of a four-year old Charter School student. 

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Taetsch said he disagreed with the Borough Council getting involved with the renewal process. 

“It’s absolutely frightening that we know we’re going to go through this in the next five years," he said. “I really hope that the divisiveness can end and I hope that we can move forward." 

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Charter schools, which are public schools funded by taxpayers, are independently operated schools with their own separate board of trustees. The Red Bank Charter School has an open enrollment process that is currently accepting applications. Any student can apply for the charter school and the students selected by lottery cannot be charged tuition. 

The Charter School has faced resistance from Red Bank residents who prefer having one school system in a two-square-mile town. 

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"We are extremely disappointed with the decision to renew the local charter school," Jared Rumage, superintendent of the Red Bank Borough Schools, wrote in an email. "The current structure is clearly a barrier to educational equity in this community and contradicts the longstanding values of the NJDOE and those recently described on the Department’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) homepage." 

The Red Bank Borough School district has a larger percentage of non-white students. 

In a New Jersey School Performance Report, in the 2019-2020 school year, of the 1,444 students in the borough school district, 7.1% of students were white while 84.7% of students were Latino and 5.1% of students were Black.

In the same year, the Charter School had 196 students, with 39.3% of students that were white, 53.6% of students that were Latino and 6.6% of students that were Black. 

The enrollment of minority students has increased after the Charter School changed its enrollment practice, giving students who receive public assistance a higher chance of being admitted. This came after the Department of Education denied the Charter School’s expansion request to double its enrollment in 2016. 

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"We are the only community in New Jersey of similar size that supports two K-8 public school districts," Rumage wrote. "After 24 years of existence, if this experiment with a two-school model is much-needed, why has it not been replicated in similarly-sized communities by the NJDOE? And why have other local municipalities not explored this much-needed option? Not Fair Haven, not Little Silver, not Eatontown, not Shrewsbury, not Tinton Falls, not Rumson, not Oceanport — and the list goes on throughout the State."

In November, Rumage wrote a letter to the council stating that operating the two public schooling systems had cost $2 million in annual redundant costs, such as two separate administrative staff and buses for students. 

"The fiscal outcome of operating two school systems is wasteful and unfair to our taxpayers," Rumage wrote. "Furthermore, in Path to Progress (August 9, 2018), the Economic and Fiscal Policy Workgroup noted that school districts with less than 1,000 students cost taxpayers 10 to 15 percent more per pupil than larger districts and are unable to provide as diverse a curriculum." 

He continued, "Our intent was and continues to be unifying a community and building a robust, diverse, and fiscally responsible school district for all of Red Bank to enjoy. Looking ahead, we will redouble our efforts to inspire our students to Dream BIG and maintain our Best In America mindset, so that we can be certain we are best for the students, families, and community of Red Bank." 

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In the statement on its website, the Charter School wrote the state Department of Education has reviewed “the renewal application, annual reports, student performance on statewide assessments, a structured interview with school officials, public comments, student composition of RBCS, and the fiscal impact on the sending district in order to render its decision of renewal.” 

“I feel very happy that it was renewed,” Taetsch said. “I feel like the state did the absolutely right thing.”

Olivia Liu is a reporter covering transportation, Red Bank and western Monmouth County. She can be reached at oliu@gannett.com.