More info to be developed for construction projects
Board considering new elementary school and addition to MELC
BY TALI ISRAELI
Staff Writer

Marlboro

MARLBORO - Board of Education members have agreed to move forward and gather more specific information regarding the costs associated with building a new school.

For several months the board members and the administration have been discussing the possible need for a new elementary school to be constructed in Marlboro's K-8 district.

At a board meeting in June, Super-intendent of Schools David Abbott said the most critical issue facing the district is the enrollment and space needs in the Marlboro Early Learning Center, Harbor and Tennent roads. Abbott said eight classrooms should be added to MELC as soon as possible.

MELC presently accommodates all of Marlboro's kindergarten pupils.

As for the increasing enrollment in the rest of the district, Abbott believes the board should begin to identify and acquire 15 acres in the northern section of Marlboro for the purpose of building a new elementary school. The school should accommodate 750 students and a 10-classroom special education wing. The superintendent said the board should begin the necessary preparations to place a referendum before voters as soon as possible.

At the June meeting, board member Cynthia Green suggested sending a survey out to the public in order to determine how residents might respond to a construction referendum.

At the July 18 meeting, public information officer Sharon Witchel said that due to a time constraint both the content of the survey and the distribution options were very limited. The survey was sent via e-mail to the people who are listed as the district's key communicators, to PTO and PTA presidents, to Project 3000 co-chairs, to the safe schools task force members and to the Robertsville Elementary School parent list. The survey was also posted on the district's Internet Web site.

Witchel said the survey was unreliable because there was no input from senior citizens, empty-nesters, or families with no children or with young children not yet enrolled in Marlboro public schools.

The survey included questions regarding the public's opinion on the increasing enrollment, the need for a new school, the effect of small class sizes on students, and whether the community would be willing to pay more in property taxes to build a new school.

Board President Terry Spilken agreed with Witchel's conclusions and said there was no validity to the survey and that it was not worth the board's time to go through the responses.

Green and board member Joe Waldman said they believe the board should still set aside time to inform the public and get a feel for residents' opinion on the matter.

Spilken said the board members were elected to lead the district and said the board has to make a decision about this issue soon. He added that the board's Citizens Advisory Committee collected data and gathered the members of the public to inform them and to get their perspective on the issue.

Spilken said he would like the board's construction committee to move forward with a more detailed estimate on land, construction costs and operational costs for a new school.

"I've already been convinced that this is a necessary thing," he said.

Spilken said while the construction committee is gathering information, the board can come up with a more productive way to educate the community as to the need for the construction projects.

During the public comment portion of the July 18 meeting, several residents of Greenbriar, an adult community, urged the board to inform the entire community and not just the parents in the district.

Other residents suggested that board members attend the Marlboro soccer tournament and other community events in order to reach more residents.

Spilken said the construction committee would take those suggestions into consideration to reach out to more of the community in an effort to inform residents about why these projects are necessary.