Number of senior permits "inadequate," says board president.
By: Rachel Silverman
The Princeton Regional Board of Education is working to beef up student and visitor parking at Princeton High School, board members said Tuesday night, by asking Princeton Borough and Princeton Township to add 20 additional spaces for high school seniors and more temporary visitor parking on Moore Street.
In the current setup, the municipalities allow 70 seniors to park on Franklin Avenue, Walnut Lane and the field side of Guyot Avenue.
"It’s very clear the number of permits issued to seniors is inadequate," board President Anne Burns said Tuesday night. "Guyot has been underparked this year," she added in later conversation.
According to Ms. Burns, visitors are currently allowed to park on Houghton Road and the township portion of Moore Street.
"We are asking for temporary permitted parking on the borough section of Moore Street," she explained.
Ms. Burns also said she anticipates the overall parking process will run more smoothly next year.
"Last year, much of the time was spent on the nitty-gritty of student parking," she said. "It’s a learning curve," adding that increased signage and online information about parking will help.
"There is never going to be enough parking for every student to park," Ms. Burns said. "But increasing the permits would be a good compromise."
The board also approved a three-year Princeton Regional Administrators Association contract Tuesday night the last of the district’s contract negotiations for the year.
"We did a very good job of putting together a fair contract for everybody," Ms. Burns said, noting that the salary increase percentages 4.25 percent for the first year, 3.75 for the second and third represent a significant reduction from the last administrators’ contract.
"We’re just really thrilled to be walking into July 1, 2005, with three settled contracts," she continued, referring to the support staff and teachers’ union settlements. "It’s a good way to start a new school year."
In other business, the board approved a job description for a new "coordinator of student activities" position.
The description was originally presented on May 24, but was tabled after members expressed reservations about its garbled sense of purpose.
According to the revised job description, the coordinator is meant to oversee elections, plan fundraising activities, prepare handbooks, organize school functions and serve as a liaison to the student body.
The person to be appointed to the post, who will report to the building principal, will also be partially responsible for coordinating student identification badges at the middle and high school, according to documents distributed at the Tuesday night meeting.