ROBBINSVILLE: Board to ask for entire $18.9 million for upgrades

By Jennifer Bradley, Staff Writer
ROBBINSVILLE — The Robbinsville Board of Education approved asking voters one question — whether the district can spend a total of $18.9 million to expand two of its schools — in a 6-1 vote July 31.
   Florence Gange was the only board member who voted against the referendum because she wanted to present the project in two questions — one asking for $14 to $15 million for work at Sharon Elementary School and a second calling for the remainder of the $18.9 million to complete the project, including work at Pond Road Middle School.
   But her fellow board members felt breaking it down to two questions meant voters would think the district didn’t “need” all the renovations it is asking to be done.
   Board members Matthew O’Grady and Faith Silvestrov were not at the meeting and did not vote.
   The referendum will be sent to voters Dec. 11.
   ”The projects that are being sent to the voters represent the essential needs of the school district and should accommodate district growth into the foreseeable future,” said Steven Mayer, superintendent. “They address the pressing need of overcrowding conditions at the K-8 level by putting forward a plan that ensures appropriate facilities for all our school children.”
   According to Mr. Mayer, the project will cost the average homeowner about $185 per year in additional taxes. He said the referendum includes various upgrades to Sharon Elementary School and Pond Road Middle School.
   It calls for floor, ceiling, air conditioning and other mechanical upgrades to the oldest section of Sharon Elementary School. Under the referendum, Sharon Elementary School also would see renovations to its multipurpose room, which would include remodeling, the addition of windows, expansion of space and upgrades to the kitchen.
   The project also would expand the core facility at Sharon so the building can house grades pre-kindergarten through fourth. It would add a two-story, 24-classroom addition and a new full-size gymnasium.
   The project also would expand the cafeteria at Pond Road Middle School to add more seating for lunch periods and add five classrooms in the existing Media Center. These projects would accommodate enrollment growth so Pond can house grades five through eight.
   Resident Debbie Baer praised the project and encouraged the board to pass it in one question.
   ”I think one of the things we need to be acutely aware of is that the places where we see excellence right now are places where there is space and no overcrowding,” she said. “That’s one of the things that’s not found in our overcrowded elementary schools.”
   Board members all agreed this project was indispensable, but wrestled with how to present the project to the voters so it receives the most support. The board did not want to see another referendum go down like the one in 2010, which called for $40 million to add a new K-5 school building on the Pond school campus and necessary repairs at Sharon Elementary School.
   ”We are faced with a pretty devastating referendum loss two years ago, a still pretty uncertain economic time and a community that is pretty fed up with property taxes,” said board Vice President Carol Boyne. “I don’t know what we would do if another referendum went down. That’s why I’m concerned about the all or nothing.”
   Since the board was concerned about the referendum going down, it considered posing it to voters in two questions.
   ”We are out of time; this project needs to be built,” said board member Thomas Halm. “The question is do we take it in pieces or as a whole.”
   According to Mr. Mayer, if the referendum were split, the first question would ask for $14.6 million and include all of the renovations to both buildings along with five classrooms at Pond and 12 classrooms and the new gym at Sharon. The second question would require $4.3 million and cover the remaining 12 classrooms in Sharon.
   Ms. Gange wanted to consider a third way of breaking down the project, which would include two questions with the same price breakdown. The first question would include the whole expansion of Sharon with no work done at Pond; the second question would include upgrades at Sharon and the improvements at Pond, the classrooms and the media center upgrades and the rest of the project, which would make up the remainder of the $18.9 million.
   Mr. Mayer said he thought this plan would not satisfy the essential need for extra space in the schools in the first question.
   The main issue the board had with two questions was that breaking the project apart gives the impression the second question is something the district would like, but does not need.
   ”In my mind, two questions will confuse people, and if we, as a board, made the determination that this is what we need, then we need to stand up and say to the community that one question will meet the needs,” said board member Sharon DeVito. “A second question in my mind means something we don’t need, but would be nice to have. I think if we split it, it won’t pass.”
   Ms. DeVito added the district already is about 300 students over instructional capacity. According to Mr. Mayer, the capacity of Pond Road is 914 students, and it currently has 1,097. The capacity of Sharon School is 760 students, and there are 869 this year.
   Ms. DeVito also said the fourth-grade class will not fit in Pond. According to Mr. Mayer, the third-grade class has 280 students and will not fit in Pond Road School when they move to fourth grade in September 2013.
   Ms. DeVito added that the schools’ core facilities are reaching unsafe levels.
   ”I don’t want to be part of a board that sends a message to the community that this project that we have been working on for years has an ‘if’ or an ‘or’ to it,” she said. “We need it. To do anything less than a full question undermines my own personal integrity.”
   Board member Vincent Costanza shared Ms. DeVito’s desire to use one question and said if residents vote down $18 million, then they most likely will vote down $14 to $15 million as well so the board should ask for the necessary $18.9 million.
   The difference between a $14 or $15 million project and the entire $18.9 million project is about $40 extra a year in taxes, according to Business Administrator Robert DeVita.
   ”The question that we are wrestling with right now is can we get a referendum passed that is of critical need to the tune of $18.9 million,” Mr. Mayer said. “Getting it down to $18.9 million is really some of this board’s best work to date. I agree wholeheartedly that if we put the second question in, the message is we really need this, and we don’t need this quite as much. Our reality is the $18.9 million is essential to keep this district on a positive trajectory.”
   He added the board has worked tirelessly to reduce the overall cost of the project as much as possible.
   ”We are all going to get out there, and we are going to beat the drums and do the very best we can to gain support,” Ms. DeVito said.
   According to Mr. Mayer, throughout the fall, leading up to the referendum in December, the board and administration will hold many town meetings where information about the project will be shared.
   He also said the Township Council seemed supportive of the project and would help campaign for the referendum as well.