School populations are on the increase everywhere it seems, even in tiny Roosevelt, which is expecting its largest enrollment ever when school doors open next week — 104 students.
Meanwhile, the Millstone Middle School enrollment has jumped 10 percent to almost 700 students.
Over at Allentown High School, Principal Christopher Nagy is looking forward to greeting 900 students.
Two weeks ago, the Upper Freehold Regional Board of Education unveiled preliminary plans for major renovations of all the school buildings, with Schools Superintendent Robert Connelly pointing out, "We are bursting at the seams."
It seems unfortunate that plans for a regional school system that would include Millstone and Roosevelt cannot be worked out sooner, which would enable the four panhandle towns to pool their resources for the taxpayers’ benefit.
According to the Upper Freehold school board, it could take as long as five years to establish a four-town regional district, provided residents of each town approve.
With that kind of a wait, the Upper Freehold board has no choice but to go ahead with plans for a referendum.
Like other districts, board members want to make sure they get a piece of the state’s multi-million dollar school construction funding pie which will pay up to 40 percent of approved renovation or building projects.
Upper Freehold is hoping the state will pay $5.5 million of a proposed $18 million project involving numerous improvements to the high school and elementary school.
Taxpayers would be asked to pick up the remaining $12.5 million.
The board expects to finalize its referendum plan next week and then will need state approval to get it on the ballot Dec. 11.
Part of the decision to hold a referendum is apparently based on demographic studies done on behalf of the Panhandle Regionalization Task Force which still have not been made public. Residents should demand to see those figures and also to get a full report on the status of the task force’s study.
It’s obviously complicated, but that’s no excuse for keeping taxpayers waiting.