BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
METUCHEN — The Board of Education expects the bids for the second phase of the Metuchen High School’s referendum project to go out in May.
“We are in the process of reviewing the project,” said board member George Trapp.
The board is in a bind right now through the bidding process.
“It’s like we’re in a straitjacket, we can only take recommendations,” said board President Ron Grayzel. “We’re hoping the bids will be awarded in May and start construction in June.”
The board will continue to work with the architect to come up with ways to restructure the project.
“The architect will then see if the recommendations will meet the specifications, which will probably take a month,” said Trapp.
The overall project’s estimated cost is $28 million. The board has invested the $17 million raised when bonds were sold for the project with MBIA Asset Management and $11 million will come from the state.
“We started investing this money ($17 million) a year ago, so the money wouldn’t just sit there,” said Trapp. “Ultimately it will go to reduce the taxes on the project.”
Phase II is the biggest part of the referendum project.
“It will involve everything inside the high school, including replacing the floors, ceilings, lighting, auditorium and much more,” said Trapp. “It will cost $20 million.”
So far, $780,000 has been used out of the $1.3 million budget for the MHS athletic field project.
In other business, Superintendent of Schools Theresa Sinatra presented the transportation, custodial and maintenance accounts.
The state identifies two types of transportation: remote, which recognizes if a student lives 2.5 miles away from their high school or 2 miles from their elementary school, and non-remote, which recognizes students who go to private schools in and out of the district.
Metuchen currently provides transportation to 900 regular education students; 38 in-district special education students; 25 out-of-district special education students; 80 students to St. Francis; 21 students to Bishop Ahr, and 21 students to various vo-tech schools.
“We have a great transportation coordinator that has been able to find jointures for many of our special education routes,” said Sinatra. “We plan to continue our focus on these jointures.”
The total custodial and maintenance budget is $2.6 million. Forty-nine percent of the budget is attributed to salaries.
“Currently we have one building and grounds supervisor, three maintenance workers, one part-time electrician, and 25 custodians,” said Sinatra.
Twenty-six percent of the budget is for utilities.
“We are part of a cooperative that is trying to obtain favorable gas and electric rates,” said Sinatra. “We should know in a couple of months if a deal has been reached.”
Eleven percent of the budget is for contracted services.
“These services include plumbing, HVAC, repairs of instructional equipment, elevator inspections, sprinkler and fire system inspections and asbestos monitoring,” said Sinatra.
Six percent of the budget represents the property and casualty insurance rates. The remaining 8 percent of the budget is for supplies, repairs of vehicles, sewer drain cleaning and uniforms for custodians, said Sinatra.
The deadline for filing nominating petitions to run for positions on the Metuchen Board of Education is 4 p.m. on Feb. 27. Prospective school board candidates can obtain a School Board Candidate Kit at the local school district office at 16 Simpson Place.
School board elections will be held on April 18. Visit www.metuchenschools.org or call (732) 321-8700.