Toms river schools superintendent: we're not opening in september, no school district is

Toms River Schools Superintendent: We’re Not Opening In September, No School District Is

TOMS RIVER, NJ – The Toms River Regional School District is one of  New Jersey’s largest school districts and on Monday, Superintendent of Schools David Healy said the district will be starting the 2020-21 school year with remote learning.

Earlier this summer, Healy said a return to school for Toms River Regional Schools this September is currently logistically and financially impossible, according to Superintendent of Schools David Healy.  He added the he doubted students will be returning to school in September based on guidelines that have been set forth by the State of New Jersey.

“Trenton continues to change their mind and change their rules,” Healy said.

Healy added that restrictions and guidelines currently set in place by Governor Phil Murphy and the Department of Education make a return to school nearly impossible under the current guidelines.

“With the restrictions that are in place with opening and everything those restrictions entail, if we have a full return of students based on the guidance if you call it guidance, it would require us to have a maximum of 10 students per class, a minimum of 10 students per bus,” Healy said.  “Keeping in mind we transport 13,000 students per day, so not only is it logistically impossible for our district and many districts based on the restrictions but also financially, operating expenses being two to three times more than what they would be before this COVID issue.”

This week, Healy told the Asbury Park Press, the district will not open in September and forecasted that no district in New Jersey is opening in September.  Healy said it is financially impossible to open schools this fall, even claiming a hybrid model is financially and logistically impossible.

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