The district has formed an ad hoc committee to study enrollment and review the district’s current facilities.
By: Nick D’Amore
JAMESBURG The school district is looking for ways to deal with future enrollment growth.
The district has formed an ad hoc committee to study enrollment and review the district’s current facilities.
Among the plans being discussed by the committee are: developing a separate facility for pre-k and kindergarten students; building additions to the John F. Kennedy and Grace M. Breckwedel schools; and rearranging the grade levels at the two schools, said Superintendent Richard Ballard.
The committee has been meeting since October and discussing possible recommendations to make to the Board of Education in the coming months.
"They’re reviewing the school facilities with the present enrollment and seeing how it sustains staff and students," School Business Administrator Thomas Reynolds said.
The committee is made up of school staff, administrators, community members and board members.
Mr. Reynolds said the committee is reviewing a recent demographic study and looking for any possible alternatives to the current school set-up.
"They are reviewing all different scenarios, such as moving the sixth grade to Grace M. Breckwedel School," he said.
The district has one elementary school, JFK, which houses pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. GMB houses seventh and eighth grades.
Dr. Ballard said the pre-k program at JFK has caused the school and the district to reach near-capacity levels.
"Also, more children are moving into the district, whether through people buying or renting homes," he said.
Mr. Reynolds said the demographic study was complete, but the demographer had to go back to factor in the resale of homes in the borough.
While there are no new houses being built, he said, people, such as seniors or families without children, have been reselling their homes to new residents with more children.
Mr. Reynolds said the new demographic report, as well as a five-year facilities study, may be presented to the board by the committee Jan. 17.
The next committee meeting will be Jan. 16, when the committee hopes to come up with possible recommendations, Dr. Ballard said.
He said a final recommendation most likely will be made in February or March.