State DCA grant funding yet another investigation
CAPE MAY — Cape May City Elementary and West Cape May Elementary school districts have received a $50,000 grant from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs to consider merging.
The schools have issued a joint request for a proposal from independent consulting firms to conduct a consolidation study, with a conclusion deadline of June 1, 2026. The deadline will allow the school to plan and budget accordingly for the 2026-27 school year.
Zachary Palombo, who serves as the shared superintendent, principal and director of special education for both schools, said there are many key things to consider when discussing consolidating the schools, a concept that has been studied in 2010, 2013 and 2014, but was found not to be feasible.
“We’re doing the study for transparency for everyone here on the island,” Palombo said. “We’re taking the opinion of community members. It’s going to be a slow process and not everyone is going to be happy with it, but that’s why we have a third party doing it.”
Consolidation considerations
Currently, both schools have established shared service agreements. The districts share Palombo as superintendent, a business administrator, supervisor of curriculum and instruction, a speech pathologist, an ASL teacher and all special teachers except for physical education.
Additionally, the districts have a shared service agreement for full-day preschool as well as food services.
“The biggest sticking point is you have two separate associations, so the feasibility study has to make sure that’s equal for both association members, if they were merged together,” Palombo said, referring to the teachers unions. “There has to be an analysis of that and if it is sustainable.”
Federal impact aid is another concern. Palombo said the Cape May district receives aid for students from the U.S. Coast Guard base, noting funding is determined by the number of students.
For the 2025-26 school year, Cape May City Elementary School has 153 students and West Cape May Elementary has 83.
“Right now, we have two-thirds of students coming from the base,” Palombo said, adding that the number would dip down if students from the West Cape May school were added, which could require the taxpayer to pick up the additional cost.
With so many students coming from the Coast Guard base, bus transportation would be another key issue.
“Cape May has two buses provided by the Coast Guard as a courtesy for kids on base,” Palombo said. “If you’re a resident of both municipalities, the schools are strategically located within a 2-mile radius, and I don’t have to provide busing per state code.”
If the schools merged, Palombo said he would be obligated to provide transportation, which could cost more money.
Another aspect the feasibility study will examine is choice students, which are those who attend a public school in a “choice district” out of their district of residence at no additional cost.
“I have 12 spots at Cape May for choice students and 40 choice students right now,” Palombo said. “I get state aid for those 52 students, [but] what happens when they come together? Do I keep all 52 seats between the two districts now because they’re merged or do I have to tell the students to go back to their districts?”
Palombo added he does not want to shortchange things, considering one of the “selling points” of West Cape May Elementary School is a small-school feel. He has a waiting list for choice students wishing to attend.
“We have some pushback going on from the taxpayers asking why it’s still open, and pushback from the parents [about] why we are pursuing the study,” Palombo said. “I want the truth to come out so everyone in the public is aware that this is what it is, and how we’re going to keep taxes low and continue to deliver a high-quality education.”
Another aspect to consider is the two separate school boards.
“There are different perspectives from different municipalities. If you have to merge the districts together, that means you have to merge two boards of education together,” Palombo said. “In Cape May, I have nine board members and in West Cape May I have five.”
Two school buildings
A question that arises with the potential merger of two school districts is whether both buildings would be used and, if not, which one would be closed.
“I can’t really see going down to one building,” Palombo said. “But that’s why we’re doing [the] study.”
Additionally, Palombo said there are code requirements that must be considered for preschool rooms, which are required to have enough room for students to move around and must be retrofitted with bathrooms and changing tables.
“Even if we consolidated, I don’t think I have room for both Cape May and West Cape May to have those rooms dedicated to pre-K kids,” Palombo said, adding that if the feasibility study recommends consolidation, the West Cape May building could be the primary building. The Cape May building could be the elementary school building and house the pre-K facilities.
An additional location concern is that the Board of Education owns the Cape May City Elementary School building, Palombo added.
“It’s a very unique thing,” he said. “It’s been over a decade, and we should analyze how taxes are being spent and how these two schools can sustain being open and also still delivering the high-quality education that we have been doing.”
Palombo also sits on the Coast Guard Community Foundation Board of Trustees.
“We’ve been told that there is definitely going to be personnel expansion,” he said. “I know there is an initiative to double the number of recruits graduating from home base. If they’re really expanding the personnel, that means more families are going to have to come to Cape May, so it would be pragmatic to keep the two buildings if need be.”
Palombo said it is a waiting game for now to see what comes back from the proposals and then ultimately the feasibility study.
“We’re giving transparency to our residents and taxpayers, whether or not we come together or stay apart,” he said.
By RACHEL SHUBIN/Special to the Star and Wave
