would be expanded
in $48M proposal
Voters will be asked to OK school additions in Sept. 30 referendum
Schools in Manalapan
would be expanded
in $48M proposal
By dave benjamin
Staff Writer
It’s time for schools to grow again. With a K-8 enrollment that is continuing to increase, the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District Board of Education will ask voters on Sept. 30 to approve a construction referendum. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
According to figures the board provided to the community in June, residents’ portion of the planned construction package could total $38 million, with the state to pay $10 million of the $48 million total.
Final figures on both items — the residents’ portion and the state’s contribution — are being awaited by the district.
The board is seeking the approval of voters so that construction projects at the Manal-apan Englishtown Middle School, Millhurst Road, Manal-apan, at the Clark Mills School, Gordons Corner Road, Manal-apan, and several other projects can move forward.
"We have reviewed and addressed the issues of growth, the needs of our children and continuous education," said school board President James Mumolie. "With the support of the community during our open public meetings at various locations, with various groups and with meetings held with demographic experts and state agencies, we have determined that certain projects are needed to be addressed immediately."
Mumolie said the timing of the planned projects coincide favorably with certain aspects in the building and financial industries, namely, bonding and interest rates are now the best they have been in three decades.
Associated with the needs of education, the state right now is putting forth grants regarding construction that may not be available in the future, Mumolie said.
"The interest rates, which affect the bonding, have been the best that they have been in the past 30 years," said the board president. "So, we will maximize the amount of projects that we can do for the least amount of money."
The exact cost of the referendum to individual property owners has not been determined. However, it has been anticipated that the projected cost to a Manalapan taxpayer will be $157 annually based on an assessed property value of $250,000, and $115 annually for Englishtown residents based on an assessed property value of $180,000.
District administrators are waiting for state officials to make a final determination of the actual tax figure, which will determine the exact cost of the referendum to residents of the district’s two sending communities.
Superintendent of Schools Maureen Lally welcomed the news that the state may pay part of the anticipated construction costs.
"This is a first for the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District and a wonderful opportunity to provide needed educational space at the lowest cost to the taxpayer," Lally said. "We know that they have reviewed all of our projects and we are waiting for [the final figures]."
Listed in the resolution that calls for the referendum are several needed projects, including the construction of additions and renovations to existing building spaces. These projects will provide space for the anticipated 722 new students who are expected to be in the school district by 2007, based on new housing construction in Manalapan and Englishtown.
At MEMS, where the present class size ranges from 30 to 34 students, there will be 22 new classrooms which will reduce class size to 24, according to information provided by district administrators. There will also be extensions to the physical education facilities, expansion of the cafeteria and installation of air conditioning.
At Clark Mills, an early childhood center wing for all of the district’s preschool handicapped and kindergarten pupils will be built. Moving all of the kindergartners to Clark Mills will open classroom space in the district’s K-3 schools, administrators said.
Additionally, plans call for the replacement of windows at Taylor Mills School, Gordons Corner Road, Manalapan; Clark Mills School; Milford Brook School, Globar Terrace, Manalapan; and Pine Brook School, Pease Road, Manalapan.
Roof replacements at Taylor Mills, Clark Mills and Lafayette Mills School, Maxwell Lane, Manalapan, are also included on the list, and there is a need to replace the heating, ventilation and air conditioning, at Taylor Mills, Pine Brook and Lafayette Mills.
There would also be construction of additions, renovations to existing building spaces and site improvements at other district-owned facilities if residents approve the referendum on Sept. 30.