Matawan Regional School District Soon To Be 50

The above picture, which appeared on the front page of the 22 June 1961 edition of The Matawan Journal, documents the final meeting of the Matawan Township Consolidated School District on 20 June 1961.

The Matawan Regional School District began operations 50 years ago on 1 July 1961. It replaced the Matawan Township Consolidated District, which was formed in 1895, a year before the Borough was established. A referendum to amend the district's constitution to more fairly represent the two municipalities in a regional entity was held in the Matawans on 1 June 1961. It passed overwhelmingly in both communities.

Since representation was now to be based on population, the new Board would consist of 5 members from the Township and 4 members from the Borough. To be properly balanced, 3 Borough residents' terms had to be cut short and 3 Township members added.  The Monmouth County Superintendent of Schools handled the arrangements, including the naming of new members. He also set an organizational meeting for 26 June.

3 Borough members were to leave the Board:

1. Thomas J Siddons (3 years remaining)
2. John P Kane (2 years remaining)
3. Floyd R Brown (1 year remaining)

4 Borough members and 2 Township members were to be retained:

1. Harold J Dolan
2. Roy S Matthews
3. Daniel J Heaney
4. John J Bradley
5. Alfred Manville
6. Mrs Esther Rinear

3 Township members were to be added:

1. The Reverend Francis Osterstock was Pastor of the Bayview Presbyterian Church. He had graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1955 and been Bayview's pastor since that time. He was past president of the Keyport-Matawan Area Council of Churches and a member of the Matawan Library Board.
2. Joseph Stenger, of Route 34, was President of the Township Planning Board and vice chairman of the industrial commission. He was 31, married, with two children. He worked as a bank cashier and had been a Township resident for 21 years.
3. Adam H Gurnicz, of 418 Prospect Avenue, Cliffwood Beach, was a World War II veteran, having served in the US Army Air Corps. He was married with 3 children and worked as a draftsman in Perth Amboy. He had been a Township resident for 10 years.

 Please note that Matawan Regional High School's Class of 1961, the last to graduate under the consolidated structure, plans to hold its 50th reunion at The Buttonwood Manor on Route 34 on 14 May 2011, per APP.