Seaside Park Moves to Take Ownership of Former Elementary School Property

Seaside Park Elementary School, June 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

A year after the Seaside Park Board of Education presented the borough council with a plan to transfer ownership of the former Seaside Park Elementary School property to the town, an agreement on the matter has been reached.

The borough council, last week, authorized Borough Attorney Steven Zabarsky to send a letter of intent to the school board to transfer title after certain repairs are made to the building. The transfer of the property – which is no longer used as a school – will occur for free (or a nominal cost of $1).

When the school board first proposed the transfer just over a year ago, board members endorsed a plan under which the board would provide up to $350,000 for the development of outdoor community park space in exchange for the ability to maintain one office for the use of the non-operating district. Since then, months of discussions resulted in a revised agreement that would culminate in the borough taking possession of the building following the district completing repairs to the roof.

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“The primary difference between what had been proposed some time ago and what is going to happen entails the fact that, apparently state officials said a BOE could not transfer money to a municipality,” said Mayor John Peterson, regarding the $350,000 figure. “Now, they’re going to have the contractor do a significant portion of the roof. It’s a portion that, regardless of what the town’s ultimate plans might be for the building, has to be done. It’s certainly not money used in vain.”

The borough will also look to replace macadam surfacing that has fallen into disrepair, preventing portions of the outdoor property from being utilized due to safety concerns.

The playground area of the Seaside Park Elementary School property, Oct. 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

The school building has been used for a number of purposes since it was shut down due to low enrollment before the 2009-10 school year. Superintendent Lisa Gleason said it has been used for board meetings, PTA functions and student activities. It has also been home to the borough’s code office since Superstorm Sandy struck in 2012, as well as a weight room for the police department. Numerous community activities, including pickleball, Zumba, mahjong, canasta, a marine science summer camp and Zumba classes are held there. The school also contains a small community library.

Peterson said, for now, the building will continue to be used as it has since the school shut down. Long-term plans will likely focus on adding opportunities for recreation and civic meeting space.

“Recreation will be one of the uses that we hope will continue,” he said. “That’s going on now as we speak. There are groups who play games, there are reading groups and there’s a little lending library there. We want them – and even more – to continue.”

Peterson said the school board was targeting mid-to-late June 2026 for the roof repairs to begin. The final agreement on the transfer of ownership will come after completion. Meanwhile, discussions can continue as to how the building should best be utilized in the future.

“There are a lot of thoughts and discussions being given as to how to utilize the building more fully,” the mayor said.