Costs, and doubts, rise on high school in park
Some on board feel it's time to come up with a 'plan B'
BY JESSICA SMITH
Staff Writer

The plan to build a new Monroe Township high school in Thompson Park will cost over $36 million more than the original estimation.

And given the increased cost reported by school officials at a meeting last week, some Board of Education members are now considering whether it still makes sense to pursue the county park as the location of the new high school.

The escalation in cost from the $82.9 million referendum approved by voters in 2003 stems mostly from increases in the prices of goods and services, Superintendent of Schools Ralph Ferrie said. Officials said they are still unsure about how they will obtain the additional funds.

"I'm not going to pull the wool over anyone's eyes here," Ferrie said. "There's no magic to this."

There are three ways to go about getting the extra money necessary for the project, Ferrie said: through another public referendum, through the township, or through a shared services

agreement. He also said the cost could increase further, or decrease, depending on conditions in the global economy.

The new figure came from Epic Management, the cost estimator for the project. The Piscataway-based company had done a prior estimate in July 2005, and that was $13 million less than the current estimate.

The new total of $118,984,146 projects through January 2008, according to Ferrie. But there are other costs involved with the delayed construction, namely the classroom trailers being rented to accommodate the overflow of students, Ferrie said.

During the Jan. 10 presentation given by Ferrie and School Business Administrator Wayne Holliday, Ferrie stated that costs would have increased regardless of the ongoing holdups and a lawsuit filed by conservation and citizens' groups.

The land swap involves the township trading 172 acres of property for 35 acres of Thompson Park, on which the new high school would be built. The township would also have to pay $1.127 million to cover the higher value assessed on the current park land. Aside from delays caused by the litigation, the exchange cannot be made until it receives approval from the Department of Community Affairs (DCA). The release of restrictions from the Green Acres division of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is also required.

Among those on hand at last week's meeting was Douglas Brown, of East Brunswick, who said school officials should acknowledge that their decision to seek the land swap has delayed the construction for years.

"I don't understand ... [how] you would just say to the people that the land swap has nothing to do with it, and I think it has everything to do with it," Brown said. "I don't understand how you people can sit here and not take the blame for what has happened."

Brown told the board members that they should realize their mistake and change course. Other residents felt the same way.

"This is what happens when you put out a referendum without land," said Nancy Prohaska, a member of Park Savers, which is among the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the land swap. "You know who loses? The kids."

Prohaska questioned why the board did not reveal what they knew about the rising costs earlier, and try to find another viable location for the school.

Ferrie said he has conducted research on what other districts have paid for similar projects, and found the costs in excess of $150 million.

"So far ... all we've done is sat back and said sooner or later we're going to get the park," board member Marvin Braverman said. "We don't have a plan B."

Board member Carol Haring made a motion for the board to come up with alternative plans for the high school by the time of its Feb. 21 meeting. The plans would provide a course of action to fall back on if the proposed school in the park is unable to be built. The motion passed in a 5-4 vote.

Board President Kathy Kolupanowich voted against the measure.

"I feel that, since it was a community plan, we really need to follow through to the end with that," Kolupanowich said.

Kolupanowich pointed out that the current plan is in itself a "plan B," since an earlier referendum that proposed to build the school on Applegarth Road was defeated by voters. The plan for the park should be carried out, she said, in part because an ad hoc committee of 70 residents formulated it.

She also said it would not be feasible to come up with a new plan in such a short period.

"One thing we need to accept is the buck stops here," board member Rita Ostrager said. "We are the people ultimately responsible for getting this school built."