Jackson may build
new schools — again
JACKSON — The Board of Education has decided to follow a resident committee’s recommendation and pursue building a new elementary school and a new middle school to handle the enrollment growth that promises to challenge the district for years to come.
According to a press release from the school district, the unanimous vote taken at the July 20 Board of Education meeting is another step in a process that will include additional research into the size, scope, timing and funding of the projects and numerous opportunities for public input, district officials say.
"Along with our Future Directions Committee, we have spent months researching the growth that has been — and will continue to be — beating down our doors," said Board of Education President Michael Hanlon. "And as we plan for the upcoming year we see our enrollment growth projections in living color and we know that we must move forward."
The board agreed to pursue plans to build an elementary school on the site of the new high school, which is under construction, and a middle school on land near the township Justice Complex. The board also may decide in the coming months to include other smaller, but important, projects such as improvements to the Switlik School, according to the press release.
"This decision starts the ball rolling, but there is still much work to be done to discover the size, scope, timing and funding of the project," Hanlon said. "We know what our classroom space needs will be in the coming years and this sets us up to create the space we need. We look forward to having the community help us make sure we are creating the best plan."
During the process, the board will:
• interview and evaluate what professionals it should use to investigate the size, scope, design, timing, pricing and financing (state aid) of the project;
• complete and submit an updated Long Range Facilities Plan with the state Department of Education;
• present to the public an actual referendum proposal, which would include the main projects and any other projects for which the board would like to seek voter approval via a referendum;
• present that referendum proposal to the community at a public meeting, at which time the public will have an opportunity to comment and question the proposal;
• decide whether to accept, reject or alter the proposed referendum before putting a formal referendum question out to voters.
The Board of Education predicted the need for additional facilities during a 2002 referendum, in which building the new high school and the Elms Elementary School was approved.
"Two years ago we recognized that the high school site included room for an elementary school if and when once became necessary," Hanlon said. "In that referen-dum we also told voters we were setting aside money for the purchase of land near the Justice Complex for the purposes of another middle school if one became necessary."
The projects follow the recommendation of the district’s Future Directions Committee, which is made up of district staff, parents and community members. The committee had recommended the sites for the buildings be reversed, but the board opted to put the middle school on the site near the Justice Complex.
"The Justice Complex site is large enough to accommodate a middle school; we have an agreement with the township to be able to use the athletic fields that already exist there," said Martin Spielman, who chaired the committee. "The board determined that the Justice Complex site would be a better choice for those reasons and because it is more centrally located within the township."
Spielman said the Future Directions Committee did a commendable job of wading through data to determine what the district would need in the coming years.
"Ultimately, it was decided that this district really needs even more elementary classroom space, but we felt the community simply could not handle the impact of building three schools at once," Spielman said. "This is still a lot to ask, but it must be done. Our class sizes continue to escalate. Our facilities continue to be stretched to their limits. We continue to be dependent on the trailers that had been intended to be temporary solutions. We have to do something today."
Spielman said the board is also considering including other smaller, but important, projects in an upcoming referendum. These would include, but are not limited to, improvements to the transportation center; improvements to the Switlik School; the purchase of land for a future building project; and a walkway between the Johnson and Crawford-Rodriguez. schools.
Superintendent of Schools Thomas Gialanella said the progress toward new building projects is likely not a surprise to people who see the residential growth in town or who walk the hallways of Jackson’s schools.
"The idea to pursue these projects is certainly not news to anyone who realizes how much we’ve grown and how much we will continue to grow," he said. "It is time to move forward with the projects that will get us closer to our goals of a reasonable class size and a lower number of trailers."