County Superintendent Blocks Pacack Valley School Split

Interim Executive County Superintendent Todd Flora has decided that Woodcliff Lake will not be allowed to withdraw from the Pascack Valley Regional School District.

In a 14-page decision sent to municipal and school officials, Flora wrote that Woodcliff Lake and Montvale would see only "minimal" savings while "the increase financial burden imposed upon the taxpayers of Hillsdale and River Vale would be detrimental in comparison."

He also wrote "it is not advisable that [the regional district] be disrupted" because it has "consistently demonstrated a high level of student academic performance."

But that hasn't stopped Woodcliff Lake officials, who passed a resolution this week to pursue a voter referendum on the issue, NorthJersey.com reported.

Even if the referendum doesn't pass, Woodcliff Lake officials may file a lawsuit, according to the article.

Hillsdale Mayor Arnowitz told Patch that they would fight the issue to the Supreme Court, if necessary. He and River Vale Mayor Joseph Blundo have vowed to stop the split.

"I think Woodcliff Lake is wasting their money," Arnowitz said. "I don't see them prevailing. I see all three towns spending a lot of money."

Woodcliff Lake does pay a higher cost per student in the district because of the state-mandated funding formula used in regional school districts. The share of taxes paid by property owners of each town is determined by the total value of properties in each town, rather than the number of students. Woodcliff Lake has numerous large commercial propeties, which caused a portion of their higher value.

Woodcliff Lake and Montvale petitioned the Department of Education last year to let them withdraw from the district, citing a higher cost paid per student than in Hillsdale and River Vale. Reports on the issue were prepare on behalf of both sides in the issue, which both found the split would have a high cost for Hillsdale and River Vale — a $500 increase in taxes for the average homeowners of each town — but the reports disagreed on the feasibility of maintaining the current quality of education.

The report prepared for Woodcliff Lake found that the split "would succeed" both financially and educationally. The report prepared for Hillsdale and River Vale found it would be difficult to maintain the current quality of education for students of the four towns because many programs and services are shared between the two schools, creating an overall cost savings.

If Woodcliff Lake is successful with their newest petition for a referendum, Hillsdale voters may see the issue on the ballot in November.

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