English v. Board of Educ. of Town of Boonton
| Decision Date | 26 March 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV 00-5394.,CIV 00-5394. |
| Citation | 135 F.Supp.2d 588 |
| Parties | Patrick C. ENGLISH, Plaintiff, v. THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE TOWN OF BOONTON, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey |
Aaron Dines, Dines & English, Clift, J, for Plaintiff.
Tennis A. Collins, Tucci, Collins & Vella, Long Branch, NJ, Thomas Russo, Attorney General of New Jersey, Trenton, NJ, for Defendants.
This matter comes before the Court on cross-motions for summary judgment filed by Plaintiff Patrick C. English and Defendant Vito Gagliardi, Sr., Acting Commissioner of Education of the State of New Jersey (the "State").1 The issue in this case is the extent to which the Fourteenth Amendment's "one person, one vote" principle applies to representation on a town's school board which governs a high school engaged in a "sending-receiving" relationship with another town. This Court having reviewed the submissions and oral argument of the parties, and for the reasons set forth below, this Court grants summary judgment for Plaintiff.
Plaintiff is a resident of Lincoln Park, New Jersey, and brings this lawsuit in his capacity as a citizen. Plaintiff is also a member of the Lincoln Park Board of Education.2 Lincoln Park is the "sending" district in a "sending-receiving" relationship with Boonton, New Jersey. Boonton High School is governed by the Boonton Board of Education (the "Boonton Board"), which has nine members from Boonton. Pursuant to N.J. Stat. Ann. § 18A:38-8, Lincoln Park is allotted only one representative to the Boonton Board, despite the fact that Lincoln Park pays tuition to send its high school students to Boonton High School, and Lincoln Park students constitute 52% of the Boonton High School population. Plaintiff filed a Complaint on November 1, 2000, alleging that N.J. Stat. Ann. § 18A:38-8 is unconstitutional as it (1) violates the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the United States Constitution; (2) violates Plaintiff's civil rights under 28 U.S.C. § 1983; and (3) violates the Equal Protection guarantees of the New Jersey Constitution.
The New Jersey legislature requires each public school district to educate, at its own expense, all students who are domiciled within that district. N.J. Stat. Ann. § 18A:38-1. Pursuant to this statutory scheme, school districts without high schools may designate a high school outside of the district for its students to attend, with the consent of the receiving school district; the "sending" district pays tuition to the receiving school for the education of its students (known as a "sending-receiving" relationship). N.J. Stat. Ann. § 18A:38-3, -8. School districts engaged in sending-receiving relationships may not withdraw from the relationship without the consent of the State. N.J. Stat. Ann. § 18A:38-13. For school districts in most counties in New Jersey, the statute provides for no more than one representative of the sending district to participate on the receiving district's board of education, regardless of the relative populations of the two districts.3 N.J. Stat. Ann. § 18A:38-8.2. In relevant part, the statute provides:
A school district which is sending pupils to another school district pursuant to N.J.S. 18A:38-8 shall have representation on the board of education of the receiving school district as follows:
a. (1) If the pupils of the sending district comprise less than 10 percent of the total enrollment of the pupils in the grades of the receiving district in which the pupils of the sending district will be enrolled, the sending district shall have no representation on the receiving district board of education.
(2) If the pupils of the sending district comprise at least 10 percent of the total enrollment of the pupils in the grades of the receiving district in which the pupils of the sending district will be enrolled, the sending district shall have one representative on the receiving district board of education.
N.J. Stat. Ann. § 18A:38-8.2.
The sending district's board representative is entitled to vote on the following matters provided in the statute:
a. Tuition to be charged the sending district by the receiving district and the bill lists or contracts for the purchase, operation or maintenance of facilities, equipment and instructional materials to be used in the education of the pupils of the sending district;
b. New capital construction to be utilized by sending district pupils;
c. Appointment, transfer or removal of teaching staff members providing services to pupils of the sending district, including any teaching staff member who is a member of the receiving district's central administrative staff; and
d. Addition or deletion of curricular and extracurricular programs involving pupils of the sending district.
N.J. Stat. Ann. § 18A:38-8.1.
Alternatively, several school districts without high schools may form a "regional" district for the education of all high school students within the towns comprising the regional district. The regional district elects a single board of education to govern the schools. See N.J. Stat. Ann. § 18A:13-1, -3, -5.
The town of Lincoln Park maintains its own elementary school, but entered into a sending-receiving relationship with the town of Boonton over 50 years ago for education of its high school students at Boonton High School.4 U.S. Census data reveals that in 2000, the population of Lincoln Park was 10,930 and the population of Boonton was 8,496. The Lincoln Park population thus continues to represent approximately 56% of the population of the two districts combined and approximately 52% of the students in Boonton High School. Pursuant to N.J. Stat. Ann. § 18A:38-8.2, the Lincoln Park Board is entitled to appoint one representative to the Boonton Board, and that representative may vote on the issues itemized in N.J. Stat. Ann. § 18A:38-8.1. The citizens of Boonton elect the remaining nine members. Thus, 56% of the combined population of the two districts (and 52% of the students' interests) are represented by one Board representative; the remaining 44% of the population (and 48% of the students) have nine out of the ten Board members elected to represent their interests.
The sending-receiving relationship between Lincoln Park and Boonton has led to at least four major lawsuits between the districts, on topics ranging from the Lincoln Park Board representative's right to receive information to overcharging of tuition to Lincoln Park. (English Aff., ¶ 6, 7).5 The district of Lincoln Park may not withdraw from this relationship without the consent of the State. N.J. Stat. Ann. § 18A:38-13. In order to submit a proposal to withdraw, the district must prepare and submit a feasibility study; the Commissioner of Education must then "make equitable determinations based upon consideration of all the circumstances, including the educational and financial implications for the affected districts, the impact on the quality of education received by pupils, and the effect on the racial composition of the pupil population of the districts." Id. This statute further provides that the Commissioner of Education "shall grant the requested change in designation or allocation if no substantial negative impact will result therefrom." Id.
Plaintiff avers, and Defendants do not dispute, that the withdrawal of a majority of the students from Boonton High School, which is relatively small, would "substantially disrupt educational programs" and "devastate the finances of the high school." (English Aff., ¶ 19). Plaintiff also certified that the Boonton Board has asserted in the past that the finances and educational programs would be devastated if Lincoln Park did in fact withdraw, and neither the Boonton Board of Education nor the State has disputed this assertion. (English Aff., ¶ 19). In addition, a request for withdrawal, especially if opposed by Boonton, would be financially burdensome on Lincoln Park. Finally, Plaintiff asserts "the Commissioner [of Education] has never allowed a send-receive relationship to be terminated under that statute when the sending district comprises more than 25% of the high school's students." (Complaint, ¶ 19). The State was unable to provide this Court with any precedent which contradicted this assertion.
Pursuant to Rule 56(c), a motion for summary judgment will be granted
if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.
See also Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). In other words, "[s]ummary judgment may be granted only if there exists no genuine issue of material fact that would permit a reasonable jury to find for the nonmoving party." Miller v. Indiana Hosp., 843 F.2d 139, 143 (3d Cir.1988). All facts and inferences must be construed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. See Peters v. Delaware River Port Auth. of Pa. and N.J., 16 F.3d 1346, 1349 (3d Cir.1994).
Substantive law controls the inquiry into which facts are "material." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. An issue is "genuine" if a reasonable jury could decide the issue in the nonmovant's favor. Id. Thus, "[o]nly disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment." Id.; accord Ridgewood Bd. of Educ. v. N.E., 172 F.3d 238, 252 (3d Cir.1999) (citing Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)).
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English v. Board of Educ. of Town of Boonton, CIV. 00-5394.
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