Post by admin on Jan 3, 2009 9:51:05 GMT -5
Schools not out of the woods yet, even with all the good news tha has been coming out of them...
newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2008/1230/front_page/003.html
Freehold Borough admins. will try to find $4 million without going to referendum
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer
Administrators in the Freehold Borough K-8 School District are still trying to catch up with an increase in enrollment that hit the town's three public schools five years ago.
They have started making tentative plans to construct more space at two elementary schools and want to be able to do that without asking residents to approve a construction referendum.
According to a November 2003 article published in the News Transcript, enrollment in the three-school district had dropped as low as 1,015 pupils in 1994, before rising to 1,085 pupils in 1998 and then jumping to 1,372 pupils in 2003.
The school district currently has an enrollment of 1,337 pupils, according to Superintendent of Schools Elizabeth O'Connell. The district's 2007-08 enrollment was 1,350 pupils.
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"We usually fluctuate between 1,350 and 1,390 pupils," O'Connell said. "We had a huge increase in our enrollment in 2001, 2002 and 2003, and we are still playing catch-up from that. We are hoping that the enrollment will stabilize and stay at about 1,350 pupils."
The combined functional capacity of all three schools in Freehold Borough is about 1,120 pupils, according to the November 2003 News Transcript article.
After seeing construction referendums rejected by voters in 2005 and 2006, administrators know where taxpayers stand on the issue of spending money to build more facilities. They said they are attempting to craft a plan to accommodate the student population with the needs of the taxpayers in mind.
According to O'Connell, the Facilities Committee brought updates to the Board of Education on Dec. 8. The committee's plan is to hopefully build four new full-size classrooms and six small-group instruction areas at the Park Avenue school complex, Park Avenue.
"The six small-group instruction areas will be built with flexibility in mind," O'Connell said, adding that those instruction areas could be combined to make larger classrooms if the need arises.
The envisioned expansion at the Park Avenue school complex would also include a boys' bathroom, a girls' bathroom and two small offices. The total cost of the work at that location would be about $2.4 million.
O'Connell said the plan for the Freehold Learning Center elementary school on Dutch Lane Road will be to have an extension built off the Early Childhood Center at the rear of the school, adding three more preschool classrooms and a small office. The total cost of the work at that location would be $1.6 million.
To help fund $4 million worth of construction, O'Connell said administrators have applied for a construction grant from the state which could pay 40 percent ($1.6 million).
"We will also use $400,000 being given to us by Freehold Borough from the sale of the old police headquarters (a former school building). We are hoping to get the rest of the money from our regular operating budget," the superintendent said.
"Right now we are in a holding pattern," O'Connell said.
On Dec. 15 the Borough Council passed a resolution to distribute a portion of the proceeds of the sale of the former police headquarters to the Board of Education.
The police headquarters was purchased by U.S. Property Group LLC, which plans to develop the property in accordance with criteria established by the council. The property closed in November, resulting in the payment of $600,000 to the town, Borough Administrator Joseph Bellina said.
According to the council's resolution, the borough is dedicating $400,000 of the proceeds from the sale of the building to the school district "for their use in meeting the needs of our children while maintaining a stable tax rate that will benefit all citizens of Freehold Borough."
Bellina said the school district should receive the money by late January.
The resolution also states that the borough recognizes that the school district has been "adversely affected by an increased in enrollment, increased state mandates and declining state aid." It states that "the mayor and council wish to share the majority of the proceeds of the sale with the Freehold Borough Board of Education in order to provide quality, thorough and efficient education to our children, while keeping tax increases as low as possible."
O'Connell said she was very pleased to receive the money from the borough.
"We are so happy to have the relationship that we have with our municipal government," she said.
newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2008/1230/front_page/003.html
Freehold Borough admins. will try to find $4 million without going to referendum
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer
Administrators in the Freehold Borough K-8 School District are still trying to catch up with an increase in enrollment that hit the town's three public schools five years ago.
They have started making tentative plans to construct more space at two elementary schools and want to be able to do that without asking residents to approve a construction referendum.
According to a November 2003 article published in the News Transcript, enrollment in the three-school district had dropped as low as 1,015 pupils in 1994, before rising to 1,085 pupils in 1998 and then jumping to 1,372 pupils in 2003.
The school district currently has an enrollment of 1,337 pupils, according to Superintendent of Schools Elizabeth O'Connell. The district's 2007-08 enrollment was 1,350 pupils.
To join our mailing list
and receive notification on
special events, breaking community news and promotions, enter email address here:
"We usually fluctuate between 1,350 and 1,390 pupils," O'Connell said. "We had a huge increase in our enrollment in 2001, 2002 and 2003, and we are still playing catch-up from that. We are hoping that the enrollment will stabilize and stay at about 1,350 pupils."
The combined functional capacity of all three schools in Freehold Borough is about 1,120 pupils, according to the November 2003 News Transcript article.
After seeing construction referendums rejected by voters in 2005 and 2006, administrators know where taxpayers stand on the issue of spending money to build more facilities. They said they are attempting to craft a plan to accommodate the student population with the needs of the taxpayers in mind.
According to O'Connell, the Facilities Committee brought updates to the Board of Education on Dec. 8. The committee's plan is to hopefully build four new full-size classrooms and six small-group instruction areas at the Park Avenue school complex, Park Avenue.
"The six small-group instruction areas will be built with flexibility in mind," O'Connell said, adding that those instruction areas could be combined to make larger classrooms if the need arises.
The envisioned expansion at the Park Avenue school complex would also include a boys' bathroom, a girls' bathroom and two small offices. The total cost of the work at that location would be about $2.4 million.
O'Connell said the plan for the Freehold Learning Center elementary school on Dutch Lane Road will be to have an extension built off the Early Childhood Center at the rear of the school, adding three more preschool classrooms and a small office. The total cost of the work at that location would be $1.6 million.
To help fund $4 million worth of construction, O'Connell said administrators have applied for a construction grant from the state which could pay 40 percent ($1.6 million).
"We will also use $400,000 being given to us by Freehold Borough from the sale of the old police headquarters (a former school building). We are hoping to get the rest of the money from our regular operating budget," the superintendent said.
"Right now we are in a holding pattern," O'Connell said.
On Dec. 15 the Borough Council passed a resolution to distribute a portion of the proceeds of the sale of the former police headquarters to the Board of Education.
The police headquarters was purchased by U.S. Property Group LLC, which plans to develop the property in accordance with criteria established by the council. The property closed in November, resulting in the payment of $600,000 to the town, Borough Administrator Joseph Bellina said.
According to the council's resolution, the borough is dedicating $400,000 of the proceeds from the sale of the building to the school district "for their use in meeting the needs of our children while maintaining a stable tax rate that will benefit all citizens of Freehold Borough."
Bellina said the school district should receive the money by late January.
The resolution also states that the borough recognizes that the school district has been "adversely affected by an increased in enrollment, increased state mandates and declining state aid." It states that "the mayor and council wish to share the majority of the proceeds of the sale with the Freehold Borough Board of Education in order to provide quality, thorough and efficient education to our children, while keeping tax increases as low as possible."
O'Connell said she was very pleased to receive the money from the borough.
"We are so happy to have the relationship that we have with our municipal government," she said.