As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprising three schools, had an enrollment of 925 students and 108.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.6:1.[1]
In a special election held in September 2013, voters from Lambertville, Stockton and West Amwell Township passed referendums to dissolve the South Hunterdon Regional High School District and to combine the three existing school districts from each municipality (Lambertville City School District, Stockton Borough School District and West Amwell Township School District), with majorities in each community passing both ballot items.[5] A single combined regional district was created, serving students in PreK-12, with property taxes levied under a formula in which 57% is based on property values and 43% on the number of students. The executive county superintendent appointed an interim board of education for the new regional district, which was responsible for implementing the merger.[6]
A study commissioned by the district prepared by McKissick Associates looked at options for using, modifying and expanding school facilities in the district, in light of long-term trends indicating a decline in the number of school-aged children in the three municipalities. In a February 2016, a presentation prepared for the board of education outlined various scenarios, which could involve options ranging from retaining all existing facilities to consolidating all schools at a single site. After reviewing a matrix of all 10 options and weighing each on several factors identified as relevant, committee members ranked the choices; based on committee votes, the three preferred choices were (1) to keep K-5 students in Lambertville and West Amwell, while moving 6th grade to the high school complex, (2) keeping all facilities at their present locations with equity additions as needed and (3) a consolidated K-12 at a single site.[7]
Stockton Borough Elementary School, which had seen a dramatic decline in enrollment, was closed at the end of the 2017–18 school year.[8]
A November 2021 referendum allocating $33 million for construction projects passed by a two-vote margin. Voters in Lambertville and Stockton voted strongly in favor of the project, overcoming strong opposition from West Amwell Township voters. Renovations and expansion to Lambertville Public School will run $12.7 million and a new middle school for grades 5-8 will be constructed on the high school campus at a cost of $20.7 million.[9]
The district's board of education, composed of nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held (since 2014) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.[19][20][21]
^South Hunterdon Regional Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, South Hunterdon Regional School District. Accessed June 29, 2020. "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 twelve in the South Hunterdon Regional School District. Composition: The South Hunterdon Regional School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of the City of Lambertville, Stockton Borough, and West Amwell Township."
^Rizzo, Olivia. "Small schools in this rural part of N.J. are under threat", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 28, 2018, updated January 30, 2019. Accessed June 29, 2020. "And next month Stockton Borough Elementary School, part of the South Hunterdon Regional School District, will be closing its doors for good at the end of this school year after nearly 200 years. It has a single, combined fifth and sixth grade class this year, and enrollment has fallen to about 50 students in recent years."
^Deak, Mike. "South Hunterdon's $33 million school referendum passes by two votes", MyCentralJersey.com, November 16, 2021. Accessed November 17, 2021. "A South Hunterdon Regional School District referendum on the Nov. 2 ballot to fund a $33 million project to renovate Lambertville Public School into a pre-k-4 school and to build a new grades 5-8 school on the high school campus has passed by only two votes, 1,773 to 1,771.... The cost of renovating Lambertville Public School is $11.35 million with the addition costing $1.362 million. The cost of building the grades 5-8 school is $20.7 million."
^Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the South Hunterdon Regional School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2019. Accessed June 29, 2020. "The District is a Type II District located in the County of Hunterdon, 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 elected to three-year-terms. The purpose of the District is to educate students in Grades PreK-12. The District serves the communities of the Borough of Stockton, City of Lambertville and Township of West Amwell."
