Board hopes to move ahead after court win
Land swap for new high school awaits state DEP's approval
BY JESSICA SMITH
Staff Writer

A newly formed action committee is aiming to help surmount the last hurdle that stands in the way of a land diversion needed to build a new Monroe Township High School.

While the township recently came out victorious in a legal battle with environmental groups, it still awaits the OK from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) so it can go ahead with the land swap in Thompson Park.

"We need an answer," Board of Education member Amy Speizer said. "We need to build our school. Every day that we wait costs us more money. And it's costing our children."

Plans for the new high school have been a source of contention in the town for several years. In 2003, voters approved an $82.9 million referendum for the construction of the school. As the land-swap-approval process has dragged on since then, projected costs have risen.

"We know eventually we're going to need a referendum, but for now, we need that land," said Speizer, a member of the new action committee. She noted that there have been times in the past when the board came up short of funding for projects, but it came up with ways to complete them.

"We believe that we can do some shared services," Speizer said. "This is what the governor is pushing."

The school is slated to be built by January 2011 and ready for occupancy by September of that year.

In February 2006, Richard Webster, an attorney with the Rutgers Environmental Law Clinic, filed a complaint in state Superior Court challenging the State House Commission's approval of the proposed land diversion. Webster did so on behalf of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, New Jersey Public Interest Group, and local citizens' group Park Savers.

On June 1, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court ruled 3-0 in favor of the township, presenting one less obstacle for the new high school's construction in Thompson Park.

The land swap would involve the town trading 172 acres of land for 35 acres of park land. Due to a higher assessed value on the park land, the town would supplement the trade with $1.127 million. Of the $1.127 million cash supplement, $500,000 will go toward six new soccer fields to be built on Perrineville Road. These will take the place of the fields that would be lost with the school's construction. The remainder of the money will be designated for improvements to the park.

Debate over whether the park site is located where the Leni Lenape Bethel Mission Settlement once stood has been ongoing. The settlement, which dates back to 1746, was listed on Preservation New Jersey's "10 Most Endangered Sites" list for 2006.

At the request of the state, the Cranbury-based archaeological firm, Grubb & Associates, was contracted to do a survey of the 35-acre parcel in order to determine once and for all if the mission had been there. After months of investigation, the firm released a report to the DEP stating that the mission site had actually been located about a half-mile from where the high school is proposed.

Speizer said the township is now looking into ways to preserve the actual former mission site.

Board of Education President Kathy Kolupanowich said one of the reasons for creating the new committee is to push for an answer from the DEP. Once its restrictions on the land are lifted, the land can be deeded from the county to the town, and from the town to the Board of Education.

The committee consists of 14 members, including school board and PTO members, Township Council President Gerald Tamburro and other residents. School administrators will assist the panel.

Committee meetings are open to the public. The next is scheduled for June 26 at the Brookside School at 4 p.m.

"Everyone has a stake in this, everyone in this town," Speizer said. "This is important to us. This is important to our children."