Board seeks task force volunteers

District aims to examine budget, staff, facilities

By: Purvi Desai
   UPPER FREEEHOLD — The Board of Education is selecting volunteers to serve on two task forces — one that would assist with budget and staffing and the other to examine the use of existing facilities prior to the move to the new middle school.
   "People are sending us their names and letting us know that they’re interested," Superintendent Bob Smith said Friday. "Quite a few have responded."
   He said he presented the idea to create the two task forces to the school board at its Sept. 27 meeting. The task forces have been created to assist with planning a major initiative — that of accommodating growing enrollment ahead of the construction of the new middle school— and to make the community aware of some internal decisions on budgeting and staffing, so that it can better understand the district’s needs.
   "When I see things, I’m looking at it as a member of the staff, a teacher will see things differently, a parent will see things differently, a community member without children in the school will see things differently and students, the same thing," he said. "This brings different perspectives to the decisions that are being made, and all the different groups (affected) will have some input."
   Dr. Smith said, "Both (the budget/staffing and facilities) areas are where decisions needs to be made. I could make the decision based on discussions with administrative staff, but I’m trying to extend (the privilege) to the people that are working with me beyond that group. When we get people involved from the community, they’ll bring additional skills to the table and see things in a different manner."
   He said, regarding the first task force, that the largest portion of any school district’s budget is the expenditure for staff and it is important the public be involved making decisions on it so that it can understand monetary and staffing needs.
   "We’re a very labor-intensive operation," Dr. Smith said, adding that the failure of the second question on last year’s budget to add several new staff positions failed because people did not understand how crucial those positions were, and the district ended up with only one new position.
   "As a result, class sizes have gotten larger," he said. "I want people looking at the sizes and make recommendations. How are we going to get the resources we need to run the school in the way that people think it should be run."
   "We’re at capacity right now, at our elementary school, and high school, and what we call the annex," Dr. Smith said. "We really need that middle school, but it’s not going to open on time. In the meantime, we’re going to have to do something with all the students coming in."
   He said annual enrollment growth in the district is approximately 7 percent, which is between 140 and 150 students per year.
   "When we’re at capacity, we’re looking at two years before the middle school and we have to figure out how to accommodate them," Dr. Smith said. "I have ideas. I’ll share that information with the task force, and people will come up with variations. Hopefully, we’ll come up with enough ideas."
   Each task force will be comprised of three parents, staff members and administrators, one each from grades K-4, 5-8 and 9-12, according to an Upper Freehold School District press release. The other members will include two board members, one support staff member, two students from the high school, and two community members who don’t have children in the district, according to the release.
   Dr. Smith said board President Joe Stampe will select which board members will serve on the task forces.
   The budget and staffing task force will study staffing level and responsibilities in comparable school districts, study statistics and student workload, study staff and administrative support and make fiscally responsible recommendations to the superintendent, according to a district press release.
   The facilities-centered task force, which will be studying how to use the existing school facilities prior to the construction of the new middle school, will allow the community to contribute ideas on how additional students will be accommodated, Dr. Smith said.
   Construction on the school, which was approved with the passage of a $38.9 million referendum in December 2004, has been delayed due to the detection of pesticides dieldrin and arsenic on the proposed Ellisdale Road site. Public feedback at school board meetings has revealed that people are not satisfied with remediation plans and want the school district to look at an alternative site. The school district, as a result, has recently started to study a site on Breza Road, the same area where New York-based developer The Rockefeller Group is seeking to build a major warehouse complex.
   The original date for completion of middle school construction was July 2007 at the time of the referendum. The date has now been pushed back one year.
   The appointment of the task forces is expected to be done by Oct. 18, and they will conduct their studies of materials presented by the superintendent between Oct. 23 and Nov. 30, according to the release. The report and findings of the task forces will be presented to the public either on Dec. 6, Dec. 13 or Dec. 20, depending on the time taken for the studies to be completed, Dr. Smith said.

   

Interested volunteers can send e-mail [email protected]