Voters
OK school-expansion projects
Warren Hills to do $36.8M project; Franklin
to spend $10.8M on growth.
Wednesday, December 15, 2004 • By BILL BRAY and MICHAEL
BUFFER • The Express-Times
Voters in the Warren Hills school district approved a
$36.8 million plan Tuesday to expand and renovate Warren
Hills Regional high and middle schools but rejected the $6.1
million proposal for a new athletic center along Jackson
Valley Road.
Residents narrowly approved Question No. 1 for
expansions and renovations in Tuesday's school bond
referendum with 1,553 yes votes and 1,367 no votes. Question
No. 2, which would have appropriated $6.1 million for a new
athletic center with an artificial turf field, was defeated
1,631 to 1,278.
A referendum in September, which included both parts in
one question, was defeated by a 246-vote margin.
Warren Hills Regional School Board President Nancy
Fallen said this was a victory for the students.
"I just want to thank all the voters," Fallen said. With
2,911 votes cast, Fallen said she was happy with the turnout
so close to the holidays.
Superintendent Peter Merluzzi said Question No. 1 was
"the important part."
"You've got to take what you can get," Merluzzi said of
the 50-50 result. He added that increased effort to inform
the public about the referendum and splitting it into two
questions helped get the needed support for the expansions
and renovations.
At the Tri-County Firehouse on Route 57 in Mansfield
Township, a steady stream of voters braved the cold weather
to cast their ballots.
Lisa Grillo voted yes to both questions.
"I feel that educating the kids is the most important
thing a community does," Grillo said.
Sylvia Zaslow voted no on both questions.
"Let the state take care of it," said Zaslow who felt
the state should pay to expand the school.
Warren Hills will receive $13 million toward the costs
of the renovations and expansions of the two schools. Local
taxpayers would have had to shoulder the full cost of the
athletic center if approved.
Gary Reda voted no because he doesn't want to see his
property taxes climb any higher.
"I felt it would be pushing them up again," Reda
said.
Robert Kirk said he voted yes because he felt the
schools need repairs.
"I think it's something that will benefit the town and
the township for years to come," Kirk said.
Question No. 1 allows for the construction of an
additional 48,000 square feet at Warren Hills High and 7,400
square feet at Warren Hills Middle School.
At the high school, a new auxiliary gym, cafeteria,
aerobics/wrestling room, weight room, trainer's and athletic
director's offices and additional parking will be built.
Existing space at the high school will be renovated to
provide for a larger library, four new art rooms, two
agricultural/science labs with greenhouses, 13 classrooms,
two small group instruction areas and an expanded guidance
office.
At the middle school, four new classrooms will be added
to the rear of the building in a two-story addition that
will also include an elevator to make the school completely
handicapped accessible. Renovations will provide the middle
school with a larger health office, a new main office near
the front entrance for better security, seven additional
classrooms and a new driveway for school buses to ease
congestion in the surrounding residential neighborhood.
The athletic center would have included an artificial
turf field to be used for numerous sports programs including
football, soccer, field hockey and local youth leagues,
school officials said. The facility also included a new
field house, and tennis courts.
School officials said the expansions and renovations
were needed to accommodate increased enrollment at both
schools. This year, 1,370 students attend the high school,
which has a capacity of 1,130 students. The middle school,
which is suppose to accommodate 615, has 781 students this
year.
The projects will increase the high school's capacity to
1,548 and the middle school's to 748.
Voters in Franklin Township, Hunterdon County, approved
a referendum for a $10.8 million expansion and renovation of
the township school.
The unofficial vote count was 395 to 269. That total
doesn't include 12 absentee ballots issued.
Voters also approved a second ballot question on a
proposal to spend $268,457 for the installation of water
tanks under the school to fight fires. That unofficial vote
count was 346 to 309.
"We are very pleased," Franklin Township School Board
President Douglas M. D'Alessandro said. "This has been a
very long process, 18 months. The numbers you see represent
the fact that our community worked as a whole."
The $10.8 million project includes a $2.8 million grant
from the state. The school plans to borrow $8 million.
The proposed expansion plan would increase the school's
capacity to 488 students. According to state standards, the
kindergarten to eighth-grade school has a functional
capacity of 346 students. Enrollment is currently 400 and is
expected to increase to 468 by 2009.
The expansion and renovation is expected to be done by
September 2007. The plan proposes demolishing a one-story
wing with five small classrooms and replacing it with a
two-story addition with 11 classrooms.
It includes a new multi-purpose room that will serve as
a cafeteria with kitchen facilities and storage and as an
auxiliary gym. It also will result in larger rooms for
science, art and music and will improve access roads around
the school and add more than 60 parking spaces.
Reporter Bill Bray can be reached at 908-475-1596 or by
e-mail at wbray@express-times.com. Reporter Michael P.
Buffer can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at
mbuffer@express-times.com.
© 2004 The Express-Times. Used with
permission.
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