By Sunayana Prabhu
COLTS NECK – With new members sworn in and a favorable audit report, the Colts Neck Board of Education (BOE) resumed business at its annual reorganization meeting last month, largely devoted to opposing a statewide school consolidation proposal introduced by state Sen. Vin Gopal (D-11).
Richard Wickberg, a first-time board member, joined incumbents Phyllis Camera and Angelique Volpe, sworn in to full three-year terms during the reorganization Jan. 7. The board unanimously elected Volpe as president for a second term and Camera as vice president.
John Swisher of Suplee, Clooney & Co. presented the district’s annual audit, reporting that it received the highest audit rating and noting that the district was in “excellent condition, financially speaking.” Swisher noted that his accounting firm ranked Colts Neck among the top districts to see a 5% reserve.
“We look forward to again maintaining a strong financial discipline for our taxpayers in 2026,” board member Kevin Walsh said.
Also during the meeting, board members pushed back against proposed state legislation to consolidate New Jersey school districts. A bill introduced by Gopal Jan. 11 would require county executive superintendents, who work for the state Department of Education, to develop consolidation plans for school districts, particularly those with fewer than 500 students.
Under the proposal, the superintendents would evaluate district operations and finances, promote shared services, and submit consolidation plans to the state commissioner of education.
The bill would also require state-funded feasibility studies for proposed regional districts and could ultimately mandate regionalization without voter approval if certain conditions are met.
The bill was carried from the last legislative session because no action was taken.
Facing the prospect of state-mandated regionalization, board members and Colts Neck Superintendent MaryJane Garibay unequivocally defended their district’s performance and local control.
Garibay questioned whether school consolidation would really reduce costs as the bill intends. She argued that administrative capacity and academic outcomes must be considered alongside financial factors.
“There is a belief that sharing a superintendent or business administrator will save money,” Garibay said. “At the end of the day, it’s about capacity. How much capacity do you want to thrust upon the administration who are responsible for administering the district and serving their boards of education?”
She said she would need to see data demonstrating academic benefits before supporting the mandatory consolidation this bill proposes.
Volpe criticized what she described as a focus on “successful districts.”
“Stop punishing districts that are exceptional, like ours,” Volpe said. “Go down to Camden, go down to Newark. Start following the money trail, where the mismanagement is, and stop picking on districts like this that are exceptional.”
Other board members warned that regionalization could disrupt families and students by forcing school changes and altering community ties.
The state, with nearly 600 school districts, has already been incentivizing regionalization through grants for feasibility studies, although districts have not been required to merge.
Some efforts have succeeded, including the 2024 consolidation of Highlands and Atlantic Highlands schools into the Henry Hudson Regional School District, after voter approval. Most recently, the New Jersey Supreme Court also ruled in favor of Sea Bright’s petition to pursue regionalization.
Volpe said she was upset that Gopal “singled us out” by citing the district as an example for regionalization in a recent media report. Camera read the excerpt from the report: “Gopal’s bill might also lead to eliminating larger districts. Gopal gave, as an example, Colts Neck in Monmouth County, which has three schools with nearly 1,000 students, and sends high school students to Colts Neck High School, which is one of six schools operated by the Freehold Regional District.”
“He had the nerve to call us out,” Volpe said, “name our district, and threaten us about merging.” Volpe called upon area Republicans to “defend our small district.”
“I don’t believe merging districts is going to be as beneficial as he thinks it is,” she said. “I think it’s only going to hurt us.”
Board members said decisions about the district’s future should remain with local voters rather than state authorities.
“I’ll be damned if that happens,” said Walsh. “I’m going to fight like hell and make sure we keep our own school district, educate our own kids. That’s why we moved here – beautiful town and great schools.”
The board’s current members and term expiration dates are: Camera, 2029; Sara Horowitz, 2028; Jason Orrico, 2027; Vincent Rugnetta, 2027; Robert Scales, 2028; Brian Scarpa, 2028; Wickberg, 2029; Kevin Walsh, 2027; and Volpe, 2029.
Board members were expected to participate in a Feb. 3 Monmouth County School Board Association virtual meeting with Gopal and state Sen. Declan O’Scanlon (R-13) to air their concerns about the proposed bill.
The article originally appeared in the February 5 – 11, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
