In Monmouth, the growth rate has remained stable, and was about 11 percent between 1990 and 1999. Lance M. Henderson, vice president of sales for a company that makes chemicals used in prescription drugs, and his wife, Robin, are looking to move his office from Richmond, Va., to Elizabeth this summer. Monmouth County is where they are looking to settle down. We came across Monmouth County, where prices do seem to be lower, taxes seem to be lower, and there is just more space. Stafford remains one of the least densely populated municipalities in the state, but the growth in that town may shake things up on the regional school board.
State law requires census numbers be used to reapportion regional school districts.
Because of a substantial increase in the population of Stafford since the last census, residents of Long Beach Island may see their seats on the 11-member Southern Regional District Board of Education drop from four to three. Long Beach Island sends only about 400 students to the 3,400 student regional district based in Stafford. Generally, the largest portion of property taxes go to the school tax bill, and whether one community gains or loses seats on a school board has big implications for that community. Eighteen of the 70 regional school districts in New Jersey faced shifts in the makeup of their school boards following the 1990 census, including the Tinton Falls school board, the Upper Freehold Regional Board of Education, and the Pinelands Regional Board of Education. So Robert Provost, who had served five years as one of Allentown's two representatives on the Upper Freehold school board, found himself running against a friend and the other incumbent Allentown representative for the single remaining Allentown seat after the reapportionment.