School district seeks
input for referendum
Ad hoc panel will focus
on broad set of plans
under consideration
BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer

EAST BRUNSWICK — Do you have an opinion on the proposed building referendum? If so, school officials want to hear from you.

The Board of Education is seeking residents to sit on an ad hoc committee and help shape the referendum, which is aimed at easing overcrowding and other problems at most of the district’s schools.

The board endorsed a preliminary proposal for the referendum last fall, though no cost estimate was given. It is now looking for an ad hoc committee to help determine what specific projects and costs will ultimately be presented to voters.

According to Patricia LaDuca, the district’s coordinator of community relations and programs, there is no limit on the number of members the committee will have. The district is hoping to get a broad spectrum of community voices, including senior citizens and young couples without children. The board is trying to get an idea of what type of referendum would gain the community’s support.

School officials have said the referendum may be held later this year, but no decision has been made.

"We hope there is as diverse a group as possible," LaDuca said of the committee being formed.

The preliminary building plan endorsed by the board was a modification of the first of five building options considered by the board last year. It would see a new, larger Hammarskjold Middle School built on its current property, along with additions at most of its elementary schools.

The board hopes to have the ad hoc committee formed by the end of this month and that its first meeting would be held in February, LaDuca said.

The meetings would include discussions about the conditions and needs of existing facilities. They would also involve tours of the affected buildings.

The committee’s job would be to examine the broad plans that district architect Jeffrey Venezia is drawing up, and to determine what needs are most pressing. It would evaluate the plans for each school and decide which aspects should be considered a priority and included in the referendum.

LaDuca said the committee would also help determine how much money the community would be willing to pay for the referendum.

The committee would then make its recommendations to the school board, which would make the ultimate decision on what is included in the referendum.

She said earlier this week that residents have already been signing up for the committee.

"We’d still like to have some more people sign up," she said, "especially younger community members without kids or with very young kids, because they’re the ones that are really going to feel the effects."

LaDuca said the district has used the ad hoc committee approach in the past.

She said it is possible that some board members will also sit on the committee.

The panel will likely meet a couple of times per month at first, then more frequently. There may even be subcommittees established by the ad hoc committee.

The level of participation for each member can vary so that people are not forced to contribute more time than they have, she said.

As for the actual design plans, she said the blueprints are near completion, and that Venezia will likely present some designs at a board meeting scheduled for tonight at 8 p.m. at the board’s offices off Route 18.

After the plans are completed, they will be submitted to the state for approval. The state can then determine what percentage of the project it will fund.

"The committee is a really important piece," LaDuca said.

Those interested in joining the panel should e-mail the school district at commrel@ebnet.org or call (732) 613-6706.