School officials are citing poor communications as the cause of an outcry from the community over allowing a church to rent space in Milltown’s Parkview School.
The Board of Education decided against moving forward with a rental agreement that would allow Liquid Church, a Christian congregation, to hold Sunday services at the school on Violet Terrace.
A large number of residents crowded the gymnasium at the Joyce Kilmer School on Nov. 2 for a public forum that at times involved heated exchanges among members of the public.
The public forum was held as a result of social media discussion and public criticism after the proposal to rent to Liquid Church was revealed at the Oct. 26 board meeting.
Schools Superintendent Stephanie Brown told those at the forum that their concerns that information about the agreement was withheld from the public were unfounded.
Brown acknowledged that aspects of the plan, such as increased traffic and parking, are not ideal, but school and church officials could work together to resolve them.
“It’s not to say the deal was done,” she said of the discussion held on Oct. 26.
Brown told those in attendance that she wishes she would have been given a chance to address public concerns and have conversations to work things out rather than have the issues discussed on social media.
Principals of Parkview and Joyce Kilmer, as well as teachers and district staff, spoke in support of Brown, who they said was being unfairly criticized on social media.
“I have worked with five superintendents,” said Joyce Kilmer School Principal Janet Ferlazzo, who previously was principal at Parkview. “I support Dr. Brown and the current board. They care about the wellbeing of all the children in the district. Their integrity is second to none.”
Some members of the public said their opposition has nothing to do with the church, but the unknown number of people who would be coming into the borough, overflow parking and safety and security.
Resident Kevin Mcleod said the $65,000 to $68,000 in rental fees that the church would pay the district would not be adequate to cover the increased security that would be needed.
He said he and his wife had moved to Milltown for its “quaint, small-town” feel. “There’s no amount of money that I would exchange for that,” he said. Cuyler Black, campus pastor in Middlesex County for the Liquid Church, sent a letter to the Milltown School District on Oct. 30 withdrawing the request for rental space for Sunday services.
“Our goal from the beginning was to be a blessing to the community of Milltown, to welcome residents on Sundays, and serve them throughout the years,” he said in the letter.
Liquid Church has sites in New Brunswick, Morristown, Nutley, Mountainside and Somerset.
“As we discussed with you from the beginning, we had a mutual interest in maintaining safety and security in Milltown while ensuring a limited traffic impact on the community,” Black said in the letter.
“We believe we were taking all of the steps necessary to address those issues.”
However, Black said church officials understand that there is a difference of opinion among some in the community.
“Therefore, we think it’s best to withdraw our request to host Sunday services at the Parkview School,” he wrote. “We want to ensure you maintain the strong community atmosphere in Milltown that attracted us in the first place.”
Board President Bill Petscavage said big lessons have been learned as the board continues to look for outside-the-box ideas to generate revenue for the school district.
He said the board in the future would have to re-examine facilities-use policies, which currently allow for the rental of school facilities to outside groups.