Hillsborough Approves Redistricting: 116 Students From Six Schools To Move

The Hillsborough Board of Education finalized a plan to redistrict 116 elementary students across six schools starting the 2026-27 academic year. The Somerset County district approved the measure to balance enrollment and prepare for full-day kindergarten implementation.

Superintendent Michael Volpe said the district needed to balance student enrollment across the six elementary schools before adopting full-day kindergarten this coming school year. Board officials started discussing these plans last fall. Parents of affected students got notification on April 10.

“We recognize that for many families, a school is more than just a building — it is a second home and a vital community of friends and teachers,” Volpe said, according to NJ.com. “While we know that change can be difficult and unsettling, I am incredibly hopeful about the future we are building together.”

Assistant Superintendent Joel Handler said this change makes sure that any student moved during redistricting will stay in their new school through the rest of their elementary school career. Handler described the approach as finding a balance between data analysis and what families need.

“By leveraging our demographic projections and room-utilization studies, we’ve developed a plan that not only makes Full-Day Kindergarten possible but does so with a ‘one move and one move only’ promise to our redistricted students, providing them with the long-term stability they deserve in their foundational school years,” Handler said.

The distribution of pupils within the township was uneven. Why? New housing being built in already crowded areas, according to data provided by the district on Facebook. This redistricting plan will help ease pressure on certain schools.

“We cannot launch full-day kindergarten without physical classroom space,” the district said in a Facebook post. “Redistricting ‘unlocks’ the rooms needed to make this happen for all families.”

Sunnymead Elementary School sits in an area that has become more densely populated. It’s one of the schools that need students to be redistricted. Principal Tammy Jenkins gave up her office to be used as classroom space.

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