Board gets set to put $43M

building plan to Dec. 11 vote

Centerpiece will be

new school at

Wemrock Road site

By paul godino

Staff Writer

The Freehold Township Board of Education is proposing a $43.7 million referendum to support the district’s long-range facility plan to be voted on by residents Dec. 11.

The plan proposes the construction of a new elementary school between Wemrock Road and Route 537 and additions to the district’s other elementary and middle schools.

The board owns the property on which the new school will be built, if approved. The board also owns property on the east side of town, on Dutch Lane Road. Board members chose the Wemrock Road location for the new school because their research indicates that more than 60 percent of the township’s new construction is on the west side of the community.

Board members said the need for more space is rapidly approaching as most of the schools are near their capacity limits now. According to demographic projections provided by the board, the district’s enrollment will increase by 750 students by fall 2004.

District representatives said they believe this is the best time financially to go ahead with the project because interest rates are low and because the state’s Educational Facility Construc-tion and Financing Act will fund a higher portion of the project now than it might in the near future.

District administrators are currently in negotiations with state education officials to establish the exact percentage of the overall cost the state will be able to offer. Business Administrator Sean Boyce said the state will offer approximately 30 percent of the estimated $43,771,272 project cost.

With the state’s assistance, the project is expected to cost Freehold Township about $29 million, which will impact taxpayers by about $100 per $200,000 of assessed valuation, depending on several variables such as the community’s tax base and the interest rate on the bonds, according to school officials. Currently, the owner of a home assessed at $200,000 pays approximately $2,440 in local school taxes on an annual basis.

The new school and the additions to the existing elementary schools will provide for five kindergarten classes in each school. The district’s kindergarten classes will be extended from a half-day to a full-day program.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Peter J. Bastardo said the kindergarten rooms could be used for other grade levels if the enrollment of kindergarten pupils for an individual school does not require all the available space in a given year.

Multipurpose rooms will be added at each of the existing elementary schools, according to plans presented by the board.

The construction plan also calls for adding large multipurpose rooms to the Barkalow and Eisenhower middle schools, which will be used for physical education and sports. The board has decided to have 10 classrooms added to each middle school, as well as related arts rooms to allow for programs such as graphic arts and digital arts.

Long-term maintenance projects are also a part of the board’s long-range facility plan.

If the referendum is approved by voters in December, the Applegate, Catena, Errickson, Barkalow and Eisenhower schools will have their roofs replaced. The Applegate, Donovan, Errickson and Eisenhower schools will have maintenance work completed on their heating and air conditioning systems and the Catena and Barkalow schools will undergo window replacements.