By PETE WALTON
Woodrow Wilson School in Neptune City is planning to accept tuition students from out of town.
Board of Education President Anthony Susino told the Borough Council this week that the board has approved the idea. He did not set a timeline for implementation of the plan.
The borough’s only elementary school has suffered from declining enrollment in recent years. Other districts such as Deal have turned to accepting out of district students as a way to boost enrollment.
Mayor Andrew Wardell said he met with Chief School Administrator Raymond Boccuti to discuss cooperation between the borough government and the school district.
The mayor welcomed the tuition idea and said he was supportive of plans to expand opportunities for special needs students.
Susino also told the council that the school reopened for in-person instruction on Jan. 16. He said the school would try to continue to operate in that mode as long as possible.
In other business at the meeting, Wardell said he met with Thomas A. Arnone, director of the Monmouth County Board of Commissioners, to discuss the continuing response to the coronavirus. Arnone said that the county will soon be able to vaccinate 2,500 people per week, up from the recent figure of 500.
Wardell said he expected the number to increase even further in short order.
The mayor said he and his family have largely recovered after testing positive for the virus. He said the recovery process lasted about a week.
Wardell paid tribute to former borough employee Charlotte O’Higgins, who passed away recently. The mayor said that she always had a lollipop ready for him when he would visit Borough Hall with his father, Ted, a former member of the council.
Councilman Glen Kocsis, who chairs the borough’s administration and justice committee, announced that the borough police department will soon be home to a shelter dog.
The Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is placing shelter dogs with police departments to serve as emotional support for officers.
The program aims to place shelter dogs in a loving environment and to provide police with a friend during their shift, according to the the society’s executive director, Ross F. Licitra, who is also a county commissioner.
Borough Chief of Police Matthew J. Quagliato said he was looking forward to welcoming the shelter dog in the coming weeks.
Quagliato said the dog will reside at police headquarters and officers would be able to take the pet home on occasion.
