Absecon Public School District

History

A 2019 study looked at the possibility of dissolving the sending relationship with Pleasantville. The consultants considered a shift to either Mainland Regional High School or the Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School District (at either Absegami High School or Cedar Creek High School). The study concluded that Absegami High School was the preferred alternative and that the district would achieve significant savings from lower costs per student. In 2020, Absecon district submitted a petition to end its agreement with Pleasantville and send its students to Absegami High School under a new sending/receiving relationship with the Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School District that Absecon argues would give its students a better education at a lower cost, without negatively impacting the demographics in Pleasantville High School. About 10% of Absecon's graduating students have been choosing to attend Pleasantville High School, for which the Absecon district has been paying $18,000 per student each year. In May 2022, the Acting State Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education rejected the petition, citing the impact that the departure of Absecon's students would have on the racial balance at Pleasantville High School.

The district had been classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "CD", the sixth-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2024–25 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics.) are: ;Elementary school

• H. Ashton Marsh Elementary School with 516 students in grades PreK–4
  • Leslie Schiavo, principal ;Middle school
• Emma C. Attales Middle School with 392 students in grades 5–8
  • Kevin Burns, principal

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:

• Daniel J. Dooley, superintendent of schools
• Julie Velluzzi, business administrator and board secretary

Board of education

The district's board of education is comprised of seven members who set policy and oversee the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either two or three seats up for election each year held (since 2012) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.

References

References

1. [https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_detail.asp?Search=2&details=1&ID2=3400660&DistrictID=3400660 District information for Absecon Public Schools District], [[National Center for Education Statistics]]. Accessed January 15, 2026.
2. [https://www.abseconschools.org/news/archived_news/absecon_send-_receive_update_1-14-2025 Absecon Send-Receive Update 1-14-2025], Absecon Public School District, January 14, 2025. Accessed January 17, 2026. "Absecon Board of Education is continuing its fight to sever the send-receive relationship with Pleasantville and instead send students to Absegami High School."
3. Prisament, Steve. [http://www.shorenewstoday.com/pleasantville_absecon/news/taxes-rising-as-more-absecon-students-opt-for-public-high/article_7501c32b-c4e8-522e-afc3-358f438dcdad.html "Taxes rising as more Absecon students opt for public high school"] {{Webarchive. link. (March 7, 2016 , ''The Current of Pleasantville & Absecon'', March 10, 2011. Accessed July 12, 2017. "'The increase in high school tuition for 2011-'12 is the reason we qualified for a tuition adjustment and is the reason for our 6.1-cent tax increase,' Superintendent James Giaquinto said Monday, March 7. 'We have budgeted $363,000 for Charter Tech, $370,000 for Pleasantville High School and $375,000 for Atlantic County Institute of Technology.'")
4. [https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3413200&ID=341320000192 School data for Pleasantville High School], [[National Center for Education Statistics]]. Accessed January 15, 2026.
5. Statistical Forecasting LLC. [https://www.abseconschools.org/cms/lib/NJ50000208/Centricity/Domain/4/Absecon__Final_Feasibility_Study.pdf ''A Feasibility Study on the Termination of the Sending-Receiving Agreement Between the Absecon Board of Education and the Pleasantville Board of Education''] {{Webarchive. link. (February 18, 2020 , Absecon Public School District, May 2019. Accessed February 18, 2020. "If the sending-receiving relationship between Absecon and Pleasantville were terminated and a sending-receiving relationship between Mainland Regional and Absecon were created, Absecon students would attend Mainland High School for grades 9-12..... If the sending-receiving relationship between Absecon and Pleasantville were terminated and a sending-receiving relationship between Greater Egg Harbor Regional and Absecon were created, Absecon students would attend either Cedar Creek or Absegami for grades 9-12.... In addition, since Absegami High School has greater racial diversity than Mainland High School, the consultants conclude that Absecon should consider terminating its existing sending-receiving relationship with Pleasantville and create a new sending-receiving relationship with Greater Egg Harbor Regional so that Absecon children can attend Absegami High School (or one of Greater Egg Harbor’s academy programs).")
6. Lowe, Claire. [https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/education/judge-to-hear-absecon-schools-request-to-leave-pleasantville-attorney-says/article_17a2a748-39ef-54a2-ae1c-9ccff505d6e2.html "Judge to hear Absecon schools request to leave Pleasantville, attorney says"], ''[[The Press of Atlantic City]]'', February 25, 2020. Accessed June 11, 2020 . "The Absecon School District will appear before a judge in July to argue why it should be allowed to leave its sending and receiving relationship with the Pleasantville School District.... The K-8 district submitted its request to the state Department of Education in August to sever its decades-old agreement with Pleasantville, citing the cost and quality of education there. The petition calls for students from Absecon to instead attend Absegami High School in neighboring Galloway Township."
7. Doyle, Christopher. [https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/education-commissioner-rejects-petition-to-sever-absecon-pleasantville-send-receive-agreement/article_976d0ccc-dd33-11ec-89cd-63f7e650746a.html "Education commissioner rejects petition to sever Absecon-Pleasantville send-receive agreement"], ''[[The Press of Atlantic City]]'', May 27, 2022. Accessed December 23, 2022. "New Jersey’s acting education commissioner issued a decision Wednesday that rejects the petition of the Absecon Public School District to terminate its send-receive agreement with Pleasantville Public Schools, an agreement that currently sees some Absecon students attend Pleasantville High School. Absecon officials had proposed that its high school students instead attend Absegami High School in neighboring Galloway Township. Acting Commissioner Angelica Allen-McMillan found that such a change would effectively and unlawfully segregate Pleasantville students, who are predominantly Black and Hispanic."
8. [https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/rda/dfg.shtml District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts], [[New Jersey Department of Education]]. Accessed December 1, 2024.
9. [https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3400660 School Data for the Absecon Public School District], [[National Center for Education Statistics]]. Accessed January 15, 2026.
10. [https://www.atlanticcountynj.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/23513/638942991736600000#page=11 ''Public School Directory 2025–2026''], [[Atlantic County, New Jersey]]. Accessed January 1, 2026.
11. [https://www.nj.gov/education/sprreports/202324/District-Detail/01-0010.pdf School Performance Reports for the Absecon Public School District], [[New Jersey Department of Education]]. Accessed September 1, 2025.
12. [https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/school/districtid/0010 New Jersey School Directory for the Absecon Public School District], [[New Jersey Department of Education]]. Accessed February 1, 2024.
13. [https://marsh.abseconschools.org/ H. Ashton Marsh Elementary School], Absecon Public School District. Accessed January 17, 2026.
14. [https://marsh.abseconschools.org/information/principals_corner Principal's Corner], H. Ashton Marsh Elementary School. Accessed January 17, 2026.
15. [https://attales.abseconschools.org/ Emma C. Attales Middle School], Absecon Public School District. Accessed January 17, 2026.
16. [https://attales.abseconschools.org/principals_corner Principal's Corner], Emma C. Attales Middle School. Accessed January 17, 2026.
17. [https://www.abseconschools.org/district/board_of_education Board of Education], Absecon Public Schools. Accessed January 17, 2026.
18. [https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/district/county/atlantic New Jersey School Directory for Atlantic County], [[New Jersey Department of Education]]. Accessed February 1, 2024.
19. [https://www.abseconschools.org/district/superintendents_office Superintendent's Office], Absecon Public School District. Accessed January 17, 2026.
20. [https://www.abseconschools.org/district/business_office Business Office], Absecon Public School District. Accessed January 17, 2026.
21. [https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/dwb/DistrictByTypeList2018.pdf New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election], [[New Jersey Department of Education]], updated February 16, 2018. Accessed January 26, 2020.
22. [https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/acfr/search/24/0010.pdf#page=49 ''Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the Absecon School District''], [[New Jersey Department of Education]], for year ending June 30, 2024. Accessed August 6, 2025. "The City of Absecon School District is a Type II district located in the County of Atlantic, State of New Jersey. As a Type II District, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education. The board is comprised of seven members elected to three-year terms. The purpose of the district is to educate students in grades K-8." See "Roster of Officials" on page 15.
23. [https://www.abseconschools.org/district/board_of_education/board_member_contact_information Board Member Contact Information], Absecon Public School District. Accessed January 17, 2026.