Elementary school plans address enrollment rise
Voters to have final say

in referendum tentatively scheduled for Dec. 10

By tara petersen

Correspondent

SOUTH BRUNSWICK — Older elementary schools may be getting everything they need, including new kitchen sinks.

The Board of Education outlined a new building proposal following recent projections by Averbach and Associates of Morristown, which estimated that the district’s elementary schools will reach full capacity in the next school year, four years earlier than officials had expected in 1999.

"We didn’t actually bring the children here, but we have to provide for them," Superintendent of Schools Sam Stewart said.

At the board meeting on Monday, Trenton architect Scott Spiezle presented plans and summaries of the proposed changes .

The most drastic changes are expected at the Constable and Greenbrook elementary schools, both of which would gain seats for 250 to 300 more children through about 29,000 square feet of additions and more than 13,000 square feet of renovations, according to the plans.

The goal is for all schools to have a cafeteria separate from the gymnasium, a stage, an art room, a music room, floor-to-ceiling classroom walls and a faculty workroom, Assistant Superintendent of Schools Jeff Scott said.

In the plans, Greenbrook Elementary School would receive five new classrooms, a music room, art room, multi-purpose room, stage, cafeteria, kitchen, faculty room, nurse’s room, storage room and rest rooms, as well as alterations to several classrooms, the media center, the main office, the principal’s office and the counselor’s office.

Brunswick Acres Elementary School is proposed to get seats for about 100 additional children. Plans being considered show both the Cambridge and Monmouth Junction elementary schools with many improvements, but no increase in student capacity.

A referendum to support the plan is expected to be put up for a vote on Dec. 10.

The proposed $20 million to $40 million referendum, if passed, is supposed to create parity among the schools and correct overcrowding by adding 650 new seats overall, school officials said.

"We need to bring the older buildings up to par with some of the newer schools," said board member Anne Tupe.

Former board candidate Joan Puchalski said she that was concerned the plan would not add enough additional seats.

"The capacity numbers are meaningless," Puchalski said, explaining that board figures show that schools such as Brunswick Acres are below capacity, but the school is currently using a 50-person trailer as additional classroom space.

"Fix the elementary schools, but don’t pretend it will solve the overcrowding issues," Puchalski said.

Following criticisms over the 199 projections, Scott said the board contracted with a new demographer so the board could compare a second set of numbers to Averbach’s data.

Averbach’s 2002 report for the 2008-09 school year added 791 students to the 1998 figure, which was used in the last referendum.

"The new figures are in line with Averbach’s numbers," Scott said.

Scott also said the special education classrooms can only have a maximum of 12 students, which reduces the capacity of each of those rooms by 13.

"The elementary schools should have been part of the 1999 referendum when the cost would have been considerably less," said Common Sense member Lew Schwarz. Common Sense is a South Brunswick community watchdog organization.

"They said they hired a new demographer, but based on Averbach’s failure to project accurately, I would have hired Ruth Spataro, who was right all along."

Spataro, a fellow Common Sense member, opposed the 1999 plan in part because she said it neglected the elementary schools.

Officials attribute the unexpected growth in the elementary students to new construction and older communities such as Kendall Park that had a significant turnover to younger families with children.

Puchalski said she sees a pattern that the board "is underplanning" for growth because in 1999 it didn’t do enough for the elementary schools, and this time it isn’t doing enough for the elementary or middle schools. "The public is feeling lied to," she said.

"We have 150 (elementary school) kids in trailers and they just bought another one, so next year it will be 200 kids," Puchalski added.

She also said that about 150 extra seats in the middle school would be gone in a few years.

"The board is now estimating that enrollment for this fall will increase by 361 students throughout all the grades. If it is evenly distributed, that means 90 more students will be in our middle schools. That is just one year," Puchalski said.

Scott responded to the comments by saying, "There may be a point in the future when we need to address the middle schools, but at this point, the elementary schools are the greatest concern, since they are expected to see the most growth."

Scott said Tuesday that only 56 of the 361 additional students would be coming into the middle schools; 139 are expected to enroll in the elementary schools, and the remaining 166 students are expected in the high school next year.