Want a chance to vote on whether the West Windsor-Plainsboro School District should bond almost $30 million for facilities upgrades and repairs? Then mark your calendar for Tuesday, January 24.##M:[more]##
The School Board is expected to vote at its Tuesday, December 6, meeting to approve the January 24 date, as well as the final wording on two referendum questions that call for the issuance of $27.5 million in bonds, if approved.
The first question — authorizing $25.2 million in bonds — would enable the district to make improvements at both high schools, and the Dutch Neck, Maurice Hawk, and Wicoff elementary schools.
The second question, which is contingent on the approval of the first, would authorize $2.3 million in bonds for the installation of artificial turf on the sports fields at both high schools.
If the referendum is approved, officials anticipate that work will take three to four years. Projects will be started at various sites, and a timeline will be released as the district prepares specific completion dates.
If the referendum is rejected, the improvements will have to be addressed on a year-to-year basis in the annual school budgets, according to officials. Performing the projects in such a piecemeal fashion, they say, will take much longer to accomplish. It will ultimately be more expensive, as well, due to increasing construction and financial costs.
A recent state law, which limits increases in annual school budgets to 2.5 percent, places severe constraints on the ability of the district to complete necessary upgrades. According to a WW-P informational brochure on the referendum: “Every year the Board of Education allocates money for district repairs and upgrades, including new roofs, repairs to schools, paving, and a host of other projects. The referendum, though, requests funding for projects that are not included in yearly budgets.”
“With increases in health care costs, transportation, special education, and salaries, the board is limited in what additional increases can be included in the budget,” says the brochure. “The board believes that the facilities referendum allows the community to have the needed improvements to its school facilities without reducing the funding for its strong educational program.”
In an effort to see the referendum approved, a group called the Citizens Referendum Committee has been formed. The members of the group are Diane Hasling and Andy Lupo from West Windsor, and Anthony Fleres and Chris Yan from Plainsboro.
The committee has already met to present information on the referendum to Parent Teacher Associations at some district schools, and is planning a community forum.
Plans for the proposed changes are available in the main offices of all schools and in the district’s central office on Village Road. A breakdown of improvements covered under the first question at each school, and the cost follows:
Dutch Neck, $4.1 Million
• Six new classrooms, with two of the rooms having the ability to be divided for small group space.
• Renovations to small group room instructional spaces throughout the building, including the lower level.
• Renovations to the ventilation system and upgrade of finishes in the school’s modular classroom addition.
• An upgrade of the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system in core spaces, including classrooms and the main office.
Maurice Hawk, $1.04 Million
• Renovations to classrooms for English as Second Language, the teachers’ workroom, and the guidance area.
• Renovations to the modular classroom addition, and replacement of the HVAC system.
Wicoff School: $663,”761
• Renovations to second-floor classrooms
• Renovations to the modular classroom addition’s ventilation system and upgrade of finishes.
High School North, $394,”199
• The conversion of existing space to multi-science laboratory space and a science preparation room.
High School South: $18.9 Million
• Renovations to create five new closed classroom spaces.
• Renovations to open space classrooms and the addition of modular partition walls.
• A new auditorium with support spaces, lobby area, bathrooms, and a scenery construction shop.
• Modernization for handicapped accessibility, to include access to new classrooms by elevator.
• Renovations to music, performing art, and fine arts classrooms. The renovations will create: Art spaces (to include spaces for sculpture/ceramics, painting, and photography including a new darkroom, kiln room, offices, and storage); and a music suite (with new instrumental and vocal music rooms, ensemble room, multiple practice rooms, instrument and uniform stage spaces, and offices).
• A new gymnasium, and auxiliary gymnasium, with indoor and outdoor storage, and a separate gym lobby with bathrooms that will be accessible from indoors and outdoors.
• A new trainer’s room, weight room, and office for the athletic director.
• A new outdoor “bubble-type” pool enclosure to replace the existing enclosure.
• Renovations to locker room space, new coaches’ offices, instructors’ offices, and updated locker rooms.
• An expansion and renovation of parking lot areas.
The second question calls for the expenditure of $1.14 million at High School North and $1.16 million at South for the conversion of stadium fields to a multi-sport synthetic turf athletic field. The rationale for the upgrades, according to the brochure, is that they would “allow for a more consistent playing field, require less maintenance, and are shown to hold up better year after year. These fields offer a safer playing field for student-athletes.”
District officials have said that if the referendum is approved, it is likely that residents will not see an increase in taxes, due to the retirement this year of bond issues for the construction of Community Middle School in 1986, and Millstone River School in 1988.
“Annual debt service payments vary by year based upon the amount the district must pay in principal and interest. If the referendum is approved, the district is committed to keeping the debt service at the same level as it is now,” says the brochure. “If the referendum is not approved, debt service taxes might decrease by $64 to $111 for a home in Plainsboro and West Windsor Township at last year’s annual average assessed value.”
The proposed improvements were identified through a process that began last year with members of the School Board, administration, principals, and district architects conducting walkthrough tours of the district’s 10 schools. The district’s Facilities Committee then compiled a report based on the findings from these tours.
Projects were categorized to include those that could included in the annual budget process, projects that could be covered by the Long-Range Facilities Plan, and projects that should be placed into the referendum.
The district’s architects then reviewed the breakdown and prepared cost estimates for all of the projects. The list was then revised according to educational needs and approved by the school board earlier this year.
According to the district, additional classroom space will be needed as a result of increases in enrollment. “Projections show that the district will continue to grow, though the percentage of growth is slowing down. We anticipate 2 percent growth over the next few years, and the additional classroom spaces allow for this increased enrollment,” says the district’s referendum brochure.
