Guest Column
Beth Sears
Guest Column
On Tuesday, Dec. 9, voters in South Brunswick have the opportunity to support a school referendum that offers something for everyone.
The proposal will benefit all taxpayers by protecting the investment we have already made in our excellent school system as a whole and specifically in seven buildings that range in age from 28 to more than 40 years old.
Just as we renovate and put additions on our homes to maintain and increase their usefulness and value, we must do the same for our schools. This plan will reduce the annual per-pupil operating costs of these buildings by enlarging their student capacity and improving energy efficiency.
Additionally, taxpayers are guaranteed that the state will fund 29 percent of the cost of this $46 million initiative.
Approval at this time also assures we will pay record-low interest rates for the money borrowed.
As if these aren’t enough benefits, the bond referendum is an investment in the construction of over 30 new permanent classrooms and the renovation of many others to accommodate our growing student population. These will be usable for at least 40 more years as compared to the cost of portable classrooms, which are very expensive to install and have a short, useful life. It’s the difference between investing in the purchase of a home and. paying rent for an apartment.
For parents of children at the elementary and middle school level, the value of this building plan goes beyond mere economics. It means their children will be in classrooms with walls with average class sizes of 23 students.
It will also mean that all elementary schools will have rooms for small-group instruction, art, music, and separate, air-conditioned gymnasiums and cafeterias. This may seem incidental or even a luxury to some people. However, I can tell you from experience that these items are fundamental to a quality learning environment.
I’ve seen firsthand students who require additional assistance receiving instruction in hallways and utility closets because there were no small-group instruction rooms.
Using one room for the gym, cafeteria and auditorium severely limits physical education instructional time as well as assembly and cultural programming. It also costs more money to provide staff for lunches and bad weather recesses in the classroom. In all seven of these buildings the gym is the only part of the building which isn’t air-conditioned. Does it make any sense that the one place where the whole school gathers is the least climate controlled?
The reality is, many more students will be attending our schools in the next few years. The question is, how will we provide for increasing enrollment?
A yes vote on Tuesday means we chose to make a reasonable and economically efficient investment.
Beth Sears is a resident of the Kendall Park section of South Brunswick