The local newspapers have ordained me as the leader of the group opposing the $88 million school referendum in North Brunswick. Thank you for the compliment, whether deserved or not.
Our group is comprised of North Brunswick residents who have had years of experience in business and industry. We looked at the presentation and the referendum from various views and determined that it did not provide sufficient information to make a wise choice in accepting this debt. We do not know where the Board of Education (BOE) got the information to generate this plan and what studies were performed to justify that level of an investment/ debt.
Were other options considered, such as the return of the Maple Meade School to student use and the relocation of the BOE offices to office trailers on site or an offsite location such as the transit village where the next explosion of the student population is expected to occur? Can the developer of that project contribute to the construction of a new school on that site? A profit and loss statement concerning the current three- and four-year-old program at a leased school and a projected profit and loss and return on investment for a new facility housing that program should have been addressed.
We can sympathize with the BOE regarding their space issues. During our tenure in business and industry we had to constantly face similar problems, although the products were different.
We are not assuming an adversarial position regarding this matter. We would like to see the situation alleviated by a transparent procedure, void of any emotional or partisan brinkmanship.
Richard Pender
North Brunswick