A South Jersey school district still refuses to pay tuition for certain vocational students even after state letter

Despite a letter from the state Department of Education saying Deptford Township Schools must provide transportation and tuition for its students who enroll in a county vocational program, the district is maintaining its position in a dispute that could affect several hundred students for the coming school year.

The disagreement began in January, when the school district said it would no longer cover costs for incoming freshmen who planned to attend Gloucester County Institute of Technology to pursue four course programs also offered at Deptford High School. Deptford said a state law forcing it to cover costs doesn’t apply if the district offers similar programs.

In response, vocation school officials said the district was required to cover the costs under state law, regardless of the high school programs. They reassured anxious parents that their students would be able to attend the county program.

In a Feb. 7 letter to school Superintendent Arthur Dietz and school board president Joseph McKenna, interim Executive County Superintendent Avè Altersitz of the state Department of Education confirmed that Deptford “is responsible for tuition and transportation costs of any resident student admitted to the county vocational school.”

Altersitz noted that Deptford offers some instructional programs also offered at the institute — biomedical and nursing/allied health, engineering, computer science, and carpentry — but noted that a possible exemption to the state law would come into play only if the district maintained its own vocational school, which it doesn’t.

In a previous situation involving a school district in North Jersey last year, Altersitz said the state Department of Education ruled against the district. Deptford can appeal Altersitz’s ruling but has not done so, state officials said.

Deptford Schools spokesperson Salvatore Randazzo said the district has no plans to rescind its January letter to parents informing them of the change.

“The board has not changed its position on tuition and transportation,” Randazzo wrote in an email.

If the matter cannot be resolved by solicitors for the districts, legal action is likely, said Michael C. Dicken, superintendent of Gloucester County Institute of Technology, also known as Gloucester County Vocational-Technical School District. He said the institute remains hopeful that Deptford would reverse the decision.

”We really want to avoid” possible litigation, Dicken said. ”We also have to protect the rights of these families.”

More than 35,000 students are enrolled in New Jersey’s 21 county vocational-technical school districts.

“It’s unfortunate that Deptford is doing this,” said Jackie Burke, executive director of the New Jersey Council of County Vocational-Technical Schools. “I’m just disappointed, saddened.”

Dicken said the county vocational school sent acceptance letters last week to about 425 eighth graders from Deptford and around the region. They have to decide by next week whether to enroll in the vocational program.

The uncertainty has caused angst for students and parents such as Amy Bell. Her daughter, Kandace, 13, an eighth grader at Deptford Middle School, has been accepted and wants to attend the county program.

“I don’t know how much the board is going to spend to fight this,” Bell said. “Just let the children go where they want to go.”

About 20% of Deptford students leave the district for the vocational school, where about 1,500 students including from 19 districts in the county attend a sprawling complex in Sewell. Deptford spends about $649,485 for tuition for about 255 students, about $2,500 per student, and an additional $100,000 a year for transportation, Randazzo said.

Dietz, Deptford’s superintendent, has said the district would continue to provide for students currently enrolled in the county program until their expected graduation. Students enrolled in programs not offered at Deptford High will also not be affected, he said, unless the district creates the same program.

The issue has sparked a heated debate on social media. Some parents praised Deptford’s in-house vocational programs and supported the district’s decision.

“We have the money to invest in our kids. They just don’t want to do it,” parent Taralynn Shinn wrote.

Justin Green, 17, a Deptford resident enrolled in the business program at the county vocational school, addressed the school board last month and praised the program. He said he plans to pursue a career in politics after college.

”I’m studying a career path,” Green said in an interview. “It’s giving me an opportunity to really get ahead.”

Green said he has been contacted by elected officials and urged to consider seeking a seat on the school board one day. For now, he plans to fight for his peers.

”When I see something wrong, I have to speak about it,” he said. “In the end, it’s hurting students.”