Plumsted school officials to hold public meeting Feb. 25 to go over expansion plans.
By: Scott Morgan
PLUMSTED As a referendum for school construction draws closer, school board officials are trying to clear up misconceptions and deliver information for what the board says is a much-needed project.
At Monday’s Township Committee meeting, school board President Herb Marinari, Superintendent Gerald Woehr and Business Administrator/Board Secretary Jim Edwards were on hand to exhibit what the proposed $17.95 million construction and renovation referendum will look like and what it needs from taxpayers in order to survive.
Mr. Edwards said the amount of the state aid has already been allotted and is unaffected by the proposed cuts of Gov. James McGreevey.
Dr. Woehr said the project entails a new primary school, renovations to the middle school and additions to the high school.
Primary school
Estimated cost: $10.19 million.
Project: Construction of a new 45,000-square-foot building, housing a new kindergarten, a preschool for the handicapped and first-grade classes.
One of the main misconceptions the school board wanted to address is the purpose of the new preschool. Dr. Woehr said the preschool will be for handicapped children and not, as is widely believed, a standard preschool.
Currently, the district educates 15 handicapped students, who are housed in two classrooms at the elementary school.
The proposed primary school, which Dr. Woehr said will be designed to be expandable, will include first-grade classrooms and facilities to accommodate full-day kindergarten. Currently, kindergarten students at New Egypt Elementary School attend half-day classes.
Elementary school
Estimated cost: $3.93 million.
Project: Replacement of boilers, roof repairs and a chair-lift elevator.
The elementary school is built out, which means it can no longer be expanded. Dr. Woehr said, however, some site repairs need to be done before too late. Old boilers and roofs, he said, fit current needs but cannot be guaranteed in coming years. Also, the elementary school is unable to accommodate handicapped students because there is no access to the upper floors, he said.
High school
Estimated cost: $4.2 million.
Project: Construction of three new classrooms, a science lab and expansion of the gymnasium to include the addition of a new team room.
The high school, which originally was built as a middle school, will need to accommodate both the recent and the anticipated growth in the district. Dr. Woehr said that without expansion, the high school would be unable to house all its students.
Currently, the school district houses approximately 1,700 students, a figure Mr. Edwards said the school board did not expect to reach until the 2003-04 school year. Recent projections place the number of students at 1,800 by 2005. There are 332 students currently enrolled at New Egypt High School.
The addition of a second team room is mandatory, as boys and girls are required to have separate facilities. At the moment, there is one.
Financing
The district recently received approval for a $6.7 million state grant for its proposed construction. Coupled with a capital reserve account worth just more than $3 million, the district needs to pass a referendum asking for approximately $8.19 million from taxpayers.
The tax impact for a house assessed at the township average of $150,000 would amount to $221 per year, Dr. Woehr said. An earlier figure assessed tax impact at $228 per year, but that figure was based on an estimated ratable base, Mr. Edwards said. The new figure is based on a known ratable base, he said.
The state grant is part of an $8.6 billion account designed to aid school districts across the state. Mr. Edwards said the pool is money already paid for by state taxpayers that will be spent somewhere. If the referendum is defeated March 12, the money allotted to the district will be sent back to the pool and the district will go to the end of the line for future aid.
Dr. Woehr said the need for construction is here and will remain until the situation is addressed. If the referendum fails, students would be jammed into classes that already are nearing their stress points, he said. Certain programs, such as English as a Second Language and music would have to share space. Dr. Woehr said such a situation "would not be conducive to learning," but would be the reality if the district were unable to expand.
Voters will be asked March 12 to vote on the referendum as a package, meaning the project either will be passed or defeated in entirety. If the referendum fails, it would reappear in September, and by then, Mr. Edwards said, there is no guarantee the money allotted to the district will still be there.
"Anything after March is iffy," Dr. Woehr said.
Mayor Ron Dancer said the timing of the referendum represents a "window of opportunity," saying it is the best time to ask for money, since later could mean a much higher tax burden.
Mr. Marinari summed up the need for the project when he said, "This is probably the most important vote this community will take. We’re very aware of taxpayers’ money … but we won’t be here in years to come. The children in those elementary schools will be the future."
A public presentation on the referendum will be held 7 p.m. Feb. 25 in the New Egypt High School library.
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