Consolidation plan outlined

By Davy James, Staff Writer
   CRANBURY — The final word on consolidation of the Cranbury School District with the Princeton Regional School District will lie in the hands of voters sometime in 2010, once a report of the advantages and disadvantages has been completed, according to Middlesex County Superintendent of Schools Patrick Piegari.
   Dr. Piegari laid out the task he has been given by state Legislature on Tuesday at the Cranbury Board of Education meeting.
   Approximately two dozen members of the public were also in attendance as Dr. Piegari laid out his mandate to consolidate all districts that don’t have an existing kindergarten through 12 structure into one that does.
   ”The new role of the county superintendent looks at district control, the budget, transportation plans and areas related to shared services,” Dr. Piegari said. “I want to make you aware of the process, my role and the timeline associated with the process.”
   Dr. Piegari will begin working with a task force of key administrators, board members, select community members and officials from school districts familiar with previous consolidations. The group will examine and collect data for consolidation of school districts in Cranbury, Milltown and Jamesburg.
   Dr. Piegari will then present his findings to the commissioner of Education and present his list of advantages and disadvantages in a public hearing in each district. He said he expects this to occur sometime around March 2010. The plan will then go to a public vote, which would require both districts affected by the consolidation plan approve of the plan. If that were to occur, he said, the earliest the consolidation could go into affect would be July 2012.
   He said a potential consolidated Cranbury-Princeton school district would have one superintendent, one business administrator, similar curriculum, schedules, salary guides, services and programs. Dr. Piegari laid out what he called his own personal biases when examining consolidation.
   ”I’m a strong proponent of neighborhood schools,” he told the board. “Unless someone can shake me around and tell me why I should move kids out of their neighborhood I wouldn’t do it. I don’t want to put kids on buses for long periods of time unless someone can tell me how that would improve their quality of life and the plan would have to provide financial savings.”
   Dr. Piegari said a plan that resulted in an increase in taxes for either Cranbury or Princeton wouldn’t make sense and that he wouldn’t compromise the quality of education in either district. He also said a plan that involved sending students from Cranbury to Princeton schools and vice versa just for the sake of mixing things up wouldn’t make sense either.
   Dr. Piegari said he believes the quality of education in Cranbury is excellent and the district is run very efficiently, leaving open the possibility that consolidation would not be in either district’s best interest once the plan is completed.
   ”If the data is compelling and it costs more, then how can I in good conscience support something that doesn’t make sense?” he said during the meeting.
   Board members said they were pleased to hear what Dr. Piegari called his personal biases.
   ”Dr. Piegari laid out what he calls his biases, which are strong values I know I share and the members of this community share,” said board member Wendi Patella. “Continuing educational excellence, his desire to keep neighborhood schools and the irrational nature of putting elementary school students on buses are starting points we can agree on. Though I was pleased to hear many things he said, I remain somewhat nervous about the implications down the road.”
   Cranbury residents in attendance said they didn’t support consolidation of the district.
   ”I support the existing structure and don’t want to see it change,” said resident Rich Stiglic. “Consolidation would turn our district into something like South Brunswick.”
   School administrators said they appreciate Dr. Piegari’s willingness to listen to the input of the public and the board and are hopeful the data will reflect the Cranbury School’s efficiency.
   ”In my view the Cranbury School District is very efficient and high achieving,” said Chief School Administrator John Haney. “We treasure our relationship with Princeton and frankly, from an educator’s standpoint, the relationship we have at present is working quite well.”