By: centraljersey.com
SPRINGFIELD – The Board of Education has awarded a contract to a consulting firm to recommend one of two remaining options for the future of the district’s one and only school.
On Feb. 15 the board awarded a $17,500 contract for a feasibility study to Education Information and Resource Center (EIRC). The study should be completed within three months.
Interim Superintendent Joseph Miller said the board decided the next step should be hiring a consulting firm to do a feasibility study after holding its public hearing Dec. 2 and getting feedback from the community.
Mr. Miller said the study would include very detailed recommendations broken down into specific areas like tax impact, cost savings, services changes and things of that nature.
The board is investigating the formation of a sending-receiving relationship or increasing shared services with other districts.
The business administrator has worked out a plan to cover the cost of the contract by various "unexpected underpayments and excesses in certain line items that we feel we can come up with to cover the cost of the contract."
"We do have a plan," Mr. Miller said. "It would require transferring some balances from other accounts into the account where the consulting group would be paid."
Mr. Miller has also submitted a proposal for a second question to the county involving the implementation of a full-day kindergarten program.
"We are waiting for approval," he said. "As long as the county superintendent approves it, it will go on the ballot for the April 27 elections."
Mr. Miller presented the board with this possibility in late January after the school board set a list of goals to implement in the coming school year. The possibility of a full-day kindergarten program is one of the goals.
Mr. Miller said the full-day program would probably gain more support as a separate question and it would also be outside of the 2 percent cap placed on school board budgets.
The program however would take a few changes in the district.
Currently, the district has a half-day kindergarten program and one teacher is teaching both the a.m. and p.m. classes. The full-day program would require the district to hire another kindergarten teacher for a second class.
"We would have to come up with a new classroom but that would just take some shifting around." Mr. Miller said. "The state law says that a kindergarten classroom has to be so many square feet and have a bathroom. There is some pretty strict legislation about kindergarten."
The elementary school does have a classroom that qualifies to be used as a kindergarten classroom that is currently being used as a second-grade classroom, but according to Mr. Miller they would just relocate that teacher to a new classroom.
The district would also have to buy furniture for a second kindergarten classroom since the current furniture is being used by both classes.
"For transportation, we’d actually appreciate a savings," Mr. Miller said.
Currently, the morning kindergarten class rides to school along with everyone else but there is a special bus to drop them off after the half-day and the afternoon kindergarten class is picked up.
"We would be able to eliminate those two special midday runs," Mr. Miller said.
The district has lost a number of students because they only offer a half-day program and many parents want their children in a full-day program and send them to private schools.
"Some (parents) would bring their children back for first grade, but others don’t," Mr. Miller said. "We’re really missing out on several students . . . because of only having a half-day program."

