N.B. considers redefining school district boundaries
Over 300 pupils could be switched from their current elementary school
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer

NORTH BRUNSWICK - The township school district has proposed redefining district boundaries for its elementary school zones.

About 300 students will be rezoned come September if the Board of Education approves the recommendation, which will be brought before the board July 9. In the meantime, a public meeting was held last week to discuss the implications redistricting would have.

On June 25, Superintendent of Schools Brian Zychowski said the goals of the rezoning plan are to minimize the number of changes, keep neighborhood children together, maximize the number of walkers, minimize bus travel, balance school enrollments and reduce transportation costs.

"This is not just a balance in enrollment but a balance in socioeconomics, a balance in ethnicities in all our schools. We are very proud of North Brunswick's diversity and we want to make sure the balance continues in all our schools," he said.

Therefore, under the new plan:

• Deerbrook Village will change from Livingston Park Elementary to John Adams Elementary

• Governor's Pointe will go to John Adams Elementary

• The Manor apartments will go to Judd Elementary

• The front half of Renaissance will go to Parsons Elementary and the back half will go to Livingston Park Elementary

• The Hadleigh Woods apartments will go from Livingston Park to Judd

• The new Twin Brooks single-family housing development will go to Parsons Elementary once construction is completed

• The properties of the Pulda Farm on Route 130 and the former Johnson & Johnson property on Route 1 north have not been included since their development plans are not yet finalized, and their potential impacts are years away anyway

The rezoning plan is in reaction to the increased cost of transportation (which could be reduced about $750,000 to $1 million, according to Zychowski); the school building expansions which will provide 44 new elementary classrooms come September; the hundreds of applications for new registration received throughout the summer; a larger population at the Renaissance housing development off Route 130 than anticipated; and the implementation of full-day kindergarten in the fall.

Zychowski said the rezoning would help even out the 313 currently displaced students, many of whom are in neighborhoods where their neighbors attend different schools than they do. It will also keep the enrollment numbers at each of the four schools at around 600 pupils.

"In some places, we can pick one street, with four houses next to each other, and the students are going to four different elementary schools," Transportation Supervisor Ray Kuehner said.

To deal with the transition period, Vincent DeLucia, the district's director of curriculum, instruction and professional development, said that students will be allowed to visit the schools before the end of the summer, and orientation activities will be scheduled during the first few days of school.

In addition, fifth-graders will most likely stay in their home school for their final year, while their siblings may have to start in a new school. Special needs students will attend the school which houses their particular program.

Yet parents who attended the meeting were not satisfied with the new plan. A common consensus was that the children are familiar with their current buildings, staff and classmates, so adjusting will be difficult.

"Kids build an alliance to their school, not necessarily to their neighbor," said Gloria Antigua. "If John Adams is their school, this map doesn't mean anything to them."

DeLucia stated that studies about resiliency in children show they recover quickly from forms of trauma, and that within a few weeks or months, they will have adjusted.

Another concern was the distance being traveled because of the new boundaries. Several parents suggested ways to reroute the new plan in order to keep their children in their current schools while eliminating lengthy travel times.

"I don't want my daughter sitting on a bus for a long time when she could be home doing homework. To me, that is a waste," said Mike Penta. "We need a southern school, that's where the issue is."

In response to parents who live in Renaissance, DeLucia said that if those children go to Judd and Judd students are displaced, there would be a domino effect. This also would affect transportation costs since most Judd students walk to school.

An additional issue was testing scores being affected by possibly integrating different sectors of the population. However, DeLucia said that the curriculum is "consistent" among each school. Zychowski said that parents from each of the elementary schools are fighting to have their children remain, which means there must be quality programs across the district.

Zychowski also added that a recertification program started a few years ago is assuring that children attending North Brunswick schools are township residents, so that services are not being provided to students who do not belong in the district, which could also affect test scores.

Overall, it is now up to the Board of Education to decide if it accepts the recommended proposal.

"We have a problem in North Brunswick where the boundaries couldn't be honored for many, many years," Zychowski said. "Somewhere it has to stop and be returned to a normal plan."

The next meeting will be 6:30 p.m. July 9 at the board office on Old Georges Road. For more information, call 732-289-3000 or visit www.nbtschools.org.