Voters in Plainsboro and West Windsor will have an opportunity to cast their ballots Tuesday, January 24, on two referendum questions asking whether the West Wondsor-Plainsboro School District should bond $27.5 million for upgrades and repairs to district schools.##M:[more]##
The first question — authorizing $25.2 million in bonds — would fund 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. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Referendum supporters have pointed out that the synthetic turf being proposed is not like Astroturf. These fields would be made up of single blades of silk-like grass, infilled with rubber pellets. The turf, according to officials, is easier to maintain than current fields and would allow for more frequent use by team sports and physical education classes.
According to officials, the WW-P referendum was one of the last projects approved by the New Jersey Schools Construction Corporation Program.
As such, there is a chance that the district may receive millions of dollars in state assistance. Those funds — estimated by some to be as much as $9 million — would mean that the district would have to bond far less than authorized under the referendum.
If the referendum is rejected, the improvements would have to be addressed on a year-to-year basis in the annual school budget, 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.
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.
“Our estimate for the tax impact depends upon interest rates for bonds and how we structure bond payments. In effect, we cannot calculate the exact costs until we borrow the money,” says District spokesperson Gerri Hutner. “Yet we can anticipate what the tax impact will be. Please remember this is not additional tax; debt service taxes are not likely to increase as previous, older debt is retired. It is most important to understand that the impact on current taxes is almost equal the financing costs (principal and interest) of the previous debt service. Hence, taxes for debt service will not be increasing.”
The proposed improvements were identified through a process that began last year with members of the School Board, administration, principals, and district architects conducting walk-through 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.
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; 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 a 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; the addition of modular partition walls; a new auditorium with a lobby area, bathrooms, and a scenery construction shop; modernization for handicapped accessibility, to include access to new classrooms by elevator.
Also, 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; and an expansion and renovation of parking lot areas.
Also proposed are renovations to music, performing art, and fine arts classrooms. The renovations will create art spaces and a music suite with new instrumental and vocal music rooms, ensemble room, multiple practice rooms, instrument and uniform stage spaces, and offices.
