BUENA VISTA -- Ian Maddox, a 17-year-old Buena Regional High School student, was hoping for a holiday miracle from the New Jersey Board of Education during a speech imploring the state for additional funds.

All he wants is for the state to recognize that Buena and other poor rural districts face the same problems as poor urban districts in educating students by relying on a low base of local property taxes.

After a five-year battle for recognition as a special needs district, Buena and four other South Jersey school districts await a decision from the state board on whether the districts will receive the additional funds.

Only the poor urban special needs districts, called Abbott districts, get the additional money needed because of a state Supreme Court ruling in a series of lawsuits known as Abbott v. Burke.

In 2003, the state Education Commissioner turned down a request from four districts for Abbott aid despite an administrative law judge's determination that they met the criteria of special needs districts.

Buena Regional, Fairfield, Commercial, and Woodbine school districts appealed the decision to the state Board of Education in May 2003 and have been waiting since, said Fred Jacob, the Millville-based attorney who is handling the case.

As of Thursday, the matter was in the hands of the board of education's legal committee, said spokesman Jon Zlock.

No date has been set for a final decision, Zlock said.

That leaves Maddox, Jacob and a host of education officials, teachers and students to wait and see.

In his speech before the Board of Education last month, Maddox pointed out that the aid had been denied because the four districts are rural.

In a series of lawsuits filed by the Education Law Center during the past 25 years, courts have reserved special needs status only for urban districts.

That strikes Maddox as ironic because he said poverty is not limited to the state's cities. In his speech, Maddox pointed out the original Abbott decision noted "high concentrations of poverty, significant mobility and other characteristics of poverty are much more likely to be found in urban centers."

Maddox said the quote is discriminatory against rural districts.

Even high test scores work against Buena Regional and the other districts, Maddox said.

"We have caring teachers, accomplished students, a happy community, but it is a struggle for anyone to do this without the right materials and resources," Maddox told the state board.

The high levels of free or reduced lunch vouchers and other benchmarks of poverty are prevalent throughout the district, Maddox said.

"Because we are more rural than urban, because our teachers rise above and provide a good education even with the little we have, we are not recognized as a special needs district," Maddox said.

Jacob originally filed a lawsuit with 17 rural districts seeking special needs status. All but the four dropped out of the suit.

Jacob now is before the highest authority in the state in his appeal for the status.

"Why is it taking so long for the state Board of Education to reach a decision?" Jacob said.

Looking at the economics of education, Jacob said it should be clear that poverty knows no boundaries. While urban districts may spend a little more on security, Jacob said rural districts spend more money on busing students.

"It costs the same to educate a kid from a poor rural area as it does to educate a kid from a poor, urban area," he said. "I've gone to as high an authority as I can. And everybody still is waiting."

Maddox wonders how old he will be before the decision finally is made.

"In 10 years or so, I may be in one of your shoes," Maddox told board members. "I may be the one a question like this comes down on."

PORT REPUBLIC -- The Buena Regional School District community is mourning the loss of a popular 2002 graduate who was killed when his car crashed into a tree alongside the Garden State Parkway.

Michael J. Conte of Weymouth was driving south on the parkway shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday -- his 21st birthday -- when his Infiniti veered off the road for an unknown reason, traveled along a grassy shoulder and struck a tree, state police said.

His girlfriend, 21-year-old Leah Gildea of Richland, suffered serious injuries in the crash, but was listed in good condition Tuesday at Atlantic City Medical Center.

Police could not say if Conte and Gildea were using seat belts, but indicated alcohol was not a factor in the crash, which occurred during a rainstorm.

Conte, who was a junior majoring in education, was president of the Student Senate at Marietta College in Ohio. He and Gildea were returning from a trip to New York, where they saw a play.

"He was just an exceptional student. He will be remembered very lovingly," Buena Regional Superintendent Diane DeGiacomo said.

Conte and Gildea both graduated from Buena Regional High School in 2002. He was named "friendliest student" among all boys in his class. DeGiacomo said he was the type of student who demonstrated how successful public schools can be, and that he came back to visit periodically after graduating.

"You couldn't find a young man that was more personable," she said. "He would see you and he would just light up."