School is back in session this week for approximately 11,800 students who are enrolled in the Freehold Regional High School District. The district’s six schools will open for freshmen on Sept. 2 and for all students on Sept. 3.

District spokesman James Quirk said exact enrollment numbers were not finalized during the week ending Aug. 28, but he said administrators are expecting enrollment to remain at about where it was in 2009-10.

When school wrapped up in June, there were 11,726 students in the FRHSD. Quirk said the trend has been a leveling off of enrollment.

Students and parents will see some changes at the start of the new school year. Winter track and field and junior varsity cheerleading have been eliminated from the FRHSD.

Quirk said focus group discussions with representatives of both activities have been held so that administrators can explore the possibility of offering winter track and JV cheerleading by charging students a participation fee.

FRHSD representatives are also looking into fundraising models that could help activity groups.

There will be changes in curriculum, with some classes that were previously offered being eliminated or consolidated. Details on which specific classes this pertained to were not available by press time.

On the administration side of things, some schools will have new leadership.

Marlboro High School will have a new principal in Shaun Boylan, who most recently was an assistant principal at Manalapan High School. Boylan replaces Gerald North, who left the district in June.

Manalapan High School will have two new vice principals, Patricia Blood and Thomas Gallahue. Blood and Gallahue are replacing Boylan and Cynthia Baumgartner.

The district is working under the leadership of acting Superintendent of Schools Suzanne Koegler and acting Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Nicole Hazel.

A search is under way for an individual to succeed James Wasser, who retired as the FRHSD’s superintendent on June 30.

— Rebecca Morton