To the editor:
Fourteen years ago the population in South Brunswick was 25,798, but in 2003 the population was almost 40,000. Our town is the third-fastest growing community in the state of New Jersey.
South Brunswick has changed immensely in recent years. Only six years ago South Brunswick High School was in what is now the middle school, and we now have a need for two middle schools to hold all of the students.
South Brunswick is extremely overcrowded and we need to help keep the small amount of open space we have left. Overcrowding is bad for the environment, it creates traffic, and overcrowding puts too many children in schools. This is a problem we must fix before it destroys our town.
First of all, our population is growing so fast it is ruining our environment in many ways and we must stop it before it is too late.
Because we have such a dense population in our town, there are a lot of cars on our roads. Cars pollute the air at dangerous rates, especially when we have so many cars in such a small area.
Cars also cause traffic, make accidents more common and lead to more road construction. Many of these repairs are funded by taxes; if we continue to grow, our taxes will rise.
Another reason overcrowding causes pollution is the more people there are in a town the more waste there is.
Overcrowding also results in more construction. To accommodate this construction, we must cut down trees or open space. However, trees provide the air with oxygen and by cutting down trees we decrease the air quality.
Overcrowding also affects our schools. We have too many children to comfortably fit in our schools. In recent years, South Brunswick has built a new high school and needed to use an upper elementary school as a middle school just to hold students.
There are 21 to 31 students in almost every class. The more students there are in each class, the less attention a teacher can pay to an individual. This means many students are not getting enough attention from the teacher, which can result in lower grades.
The expansion and building of new schools is funded largely by our taxes. Although the money is going to our children’s education, it is not helping the way it should.
The hallways in schools are extremely crowded. This is not only a safety hazard, but it causes students to be late for classes.
South Brunswick must preserve open space before it is gone. Overcrowding can be prevented if the Township Council makes laws to preserve open space and stop developing land. South Brunswick should designate areas of open space to stop overcrowding.
I urge you to go to a town meeting and discuss this with the government officials. If we do not stop overcrowding our community will be ruined. Our environment will be destroyed; we will have too much traffic and overcrowded schools. We need to stop overcrowding in our schools before it is too late.
Daniel Boyle
Eighth grade, Beta Unit
Crossroads South
Middle School
Monmouth Junction
