$113M school plan comes before voters

Project that includes new high school
would cost $97 yearly on average home

By Sandi carpello
Staff Writer

Project that includes new high school
would cost $97 yearly on average home
By Sandi carpello
Staff Writer

With the school construction referendum less than a week away, Monroe school officials have announced that a refinancing of existing bonds will result in a lesser tax impact than was previously announced.

Due to the refinancing of outstanding bonds from 1997 and 1999, the average tax needed to pay for the four-part $113.26 million school construction proposal, which goes to voters Tuesday, has been brought under $100 per year.

The refinancing "will have a ripple effect on the 2002 bond referendum," said School Business Administrator Wayne Holliday.

By taking advantage of lower municipal bond interest rates, the district will now pay interest at 3.9 percent for the next 17 years, instead of 5 percent, said Holliday. The average net tax impact of new debt services per $100 of assessed valuation is now slightly more than 6 cents, down from the previous 8 cents.

At the modified rate, homes that are assessed at the township average of $150,000 will pay about $97 extra in annual school taxes for the school project.

When the project was initiated several months ago, officials expected that tax increase to be approximately $116. However, the refinancing, along with the school district’s recently awarded $15.29 million construction grant from the state Department of Education, eased the school tax burden significantly, said Board of Education President Joe Homoki.

If approved, Tuesday’s referendum would enable the board to acquire a 112-acre property at Applegarth and Halsey Reed roads, build a new 411,000-square-foot high school on that property, convert the existing high school into a middle school, turn the Applegarth Middle School into an elementary school and perform renovations at the Brookside Elementary School.

Homoki said the district’s estimated enrollment will increase by between 300 and 350 students annually for the next five years, ultimately congesting school facilities and classrooms.

Enrollment projections have indicated that there will be approximately 1,600 students attending Monroe High School in the 2007-08 school year, while enrollment at the middle school (sixth through eighth grade) is expected to grow from 794 students to almost 1,200 students by that same school year. Elementary level enrollment is expected to grow by 480 students during this same period.

"The project is an absolute must," Homoki said.

Monroe resident Laurie Gang, of Florence Drive, said her daughter’s fifth-grade class at the Brookside Elementary School is already overcrowded, accommodating nearly 30 students, she said.

Gang also expressed concern that her son’s kindergarten class, which currently has 22 students, is too big.

Gang said she believes this increase in school taxes is a small price to pay to give her children a more conducive learning environment.

"You can’t put a price on your child’s education," she said.

Superintendent of Schools Ralph P. Ferrie said the project would benefit the entire community.

"Three new PRC’s (planned retirement communities) are being built in the township," he said "Facilities will be needed. We are building a community facility."

The new high school, which could accommodate approximately 1,800 students, is expected to include 42 regular classrooms, 14 science laboratories, an 1,800-seat auditorium, a media center with after-hours access for both the students and community, a gymnasium/athletic center, a TV production studio and classroom, large-group lecture room, night and weekend parking for a total of 900 vehicles and a classroom to support a preschool program.

Areas that would support high school students, as well as the Monroe Township Adult School program, include visitor and staff parking, technology labs, art labs and home economics labs.

The existing high school would be converted into a middle school for grades six through eight, with a capacity for 1,200 students. The plans include converting three science rooms on the second floor into four classrooms; converting an existing faculty work room on the first floor into sixth grade science rooms; converting an art room on the second floor into a classroom; and refurbishing the existing lecture hall for both student and community use.

Some residents have expressed concerns that the construction of a new high school on Applegarth Road, which is a county-owned road, will generate too much traffic congestion at the opening and closing of the school.

However, Homoki said the district is taking every precaution to ensure safety on Applegarth Road. He said a traffic study is currently in progress and will be presented to the community upon referendum approval.

Because Applegarth Road is a county road, the township will have to make adjustments to comply with county regulations, he said,

"Applegarth Road will be absolutely safe and even safer (than at present)," Homoki said.

Tomorrow at 6:30 p.m., the school board is scheduled to hold a community forum to discuss any additional concerns residents may have regarding the referendum.

Residents will cast ballots on the referendum Tuesday between 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

For additional information about the referendum or polling locations, residents can call the referendum hotline weekdays between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at (732) 521-2719 or visit the school district’s Web site at www.monroe.k12.nj.us.