Public discussion needed
on panel’s recommendation

A committee made up of staff members and administrators from the Freehold Regional High School District, as well as citizens from the district, has concluded that in order to accommodate the district’s increasing enrollment a seventh high school must be constructed.

The committee is recommending that the new school be built in Howell, which accounts for 30 percent of the enrollment in the six-school regional district. Students who live in Howell are presently sent to three schools in the district — Howell, Freehold Township and Colts Neck.

In a report to the Board of Education, the facilities advisory committee recommended that the board "begin the process of preparing for a building referendum to add one high school as soon as possible."

There are many questions to be answered before a new high school can be built. Chief among them are these:

• Where in Howell is there a piece of property on which to build a high school? Figures mentioned during previous discussion of this issue have indicated that a tract of between 50 and 100 acres will be needed. Perhaps Howell officials can step up to the plate with a suitable piece of property.

• Are the demographic projections correct? The district’s sending communities are Colts Neck, Englishtown, Farmingdale, Free-hold Borough, Freehold Town-ship, Howell, Manalapan and Marlboro. High schools are located in all communities except Englishtown and Farmingdale. Current enrollment in the six schools stands at 9,712 students. Figures cited in the committee’s report state that the district’s foreseeable enrollment peak will be 12,500 students.

• What will the board have to give Manalapan and Marlboro — and to some extent the other municipalities — in order to get residents of those two large towns to vote yes to a plan that will see a high school built in Howell? There may be enough voters in Manalapan and Marlboro to determine the success or failure of a referendum; that is, unless they have a selfish incentive to vote yes.

Historically, referendums in the district have included something for every school. It’s been a successful way of saying, "If you want something, you have to give everyone something else, too."

This time around will the costly incentives be items the schools outside of Howell really need or will the "extras" be things they want, merely as a means of fishing for some "yes" votes?

Board members received the facilities advisory committee’s report on Jan. 28, and President Patricia Horvath asked the committee to continue its efforts to seek a site for a new high school. Board members did not discuss the committee’s report, and no meeting has been scheduled to discuss it.

Not all members of the committee agree that a seventh high school is needed. Panel member Vincent Domidion of Colts Neck took the position that a new school is not needed. Quoting numbers he said were reflected in the 2000 census, Domidion said that for the next four to five years the district should "live with the present capacity" because of the fact that the number of incoming school children is likely to decline after that time.

Since the answer to the question of whether a new high school is needed is likely to be at least a $70 million referendum, public discussion of the topic is needed sooner rather than later.