Reporting

The Middletown Township Committee is scheduled to hold a public hearing September 8 on a proposed land transaction that would exchange township-owned property and $8 million for 83 acres along Chapel Hill Road and Kings Highway East.¹

The deal, introduced by ordinance on August 17, involves property owned by two LLCs formed in October 2024. Public business records reviewed for this article connect those LLCs through a shared registered agent and address to two companies that contributed to Mayor Tony Perry's 2024 reelection campaign the day after the LLCs were registered.

The proposed transaction also resembles a land swap described nearly three years earlier in a sworn certification filed in separate litigation against the township. In that certification, developer Seth Gerszberg alleged that Perry told him in August 2023 that he planned to make a deal in which the Montecalvo family would purchase the property and trade it to Middletown for township-owned land.²

The Township Committee introduced the ordinance without discussion. Full text of the ordinances is available in the Township public notices. Public comment and possible final action are scheduled for September 8 at 7 p.m.

The field is officially set for the November 2026 school board elections across Monmouth County.

Following the July filing deadline, Public Record NJ obtained the official list of candidates from the Monmouth County Clerk. The list includes every candidate who filed to run for a local board of education seat, along with the ballot slogan submitted with their nominating petition, where applicable, and each candidate's municipality of residence.

School board elections have taken on increased importance in recent years as districts across New Jersey grapple with declining enrollment, budget pressures, facility planning, curriculum debates, and state funding. In Monmouth County, several districts are also navigating major issues that could shape the direction of local education for years to come.

Below is the complete list of candidates organized by municipality and school district.

The Middletown Township Board of Education voted 5–4 Tuesday, April 28, against approving a “Long Range Facilities Plan (LRFP) Major Amendment Update,” then spent the end of the meeting arguing over whether — and how — that vote could be reconsidered.

In the end, the board president said the reconsideration would be withdrawn and that the original 5–4 rejection would stand.

On April 29, district leaders sent a post-meeting letter to the community — signed by Jessica Alfone and Chris Aveta — stating that, as a result of the board’s failure to adopt the LRFP, the district is now recommending holding off on the planned school closures and consolidations for the 2026–2027 school year.

Gov. Mikie Sherrill on April 27 signed Executive Order No. 17, directing New Jersey executive-branch entities to inventory state-controlled land and certain “unutilized,” “underutilized,” or “surplus” property that could be used for housing, and establishing a new interagency Housing Governing Council.

The order also adds a temporary procedural condition on property dispositions. Until an executive-branch department or agency has complied with the order’s reporting directives, it may not dispose of property it owns without approval from the Governor’s Office Chief Operating Officer (COO). The governing council must deliver its initial recommendations to the Governor’s Office within 150 days of the order taking effect.