February 25 , 2008
Dr. Clark's Comments:
Dr. Clark discussed a new committee -- Student Conduct and Good Citizenship -- that is being formed in all three schools (grades K-8) as a behavioral program to develop consistent requirements, expectations, and positive reinforcement for the children. The committee will be chaired by Mrs. Baisley and it will begin in March.
Dr. Clark also mentioned the Department of Education’s new monitoring and evaluation system for public school districts, called the NJ Quality Single Accountability Continuum (QSAC), which is an accountability standard by which schools will be graded on each component of school district effectiveness.
Public Comments:
One of the major issues to be voted on at last night's meeting was the authorization of up to $150,550 to be paid to the architect for professional services relating to the referendum in September. In order to have a referendum, Denville must obtain approval from the State. In order to obtain approval from the State, we must make a submittal to the State by April 3, 2008, which must include various plans and studies. The purpose of the $150k for the architect is to prepare the plans and studies required by the State prior to approving the referendum. Many residents did not want to authorize any money toward the new middle school until the referendum was voted on by the public, but the Board explained that this is the process for any town that is building or renovation a school and these costs must be paid prior to the referendum. The public's specific questions/comments are provided below:
Julie Willis asked if there had been a bid for the architect's work, and the Board responded that there had not been a bid process because it was not required. She also asked where the $150k was coming from, and the Business Administrator explained that the money was coming from the 2007-2008 capital projects budget. Money was set aside in this budget for replacing the windows at Riverview, but not all of the money was spent because the district financed the project.
Lynn Zoller(sp?) asked if there would be a separate meeting to discuss the new middle school, and Mr. Bertram explained that a separate meeting will be held at a date to be determined to provide the public with all of the cost information for the new school, as determined by bond counsel being retained by the district.
John McCarthy was extremely concerned about spending $150k for the architect's services without a bidding process and without the public's approval for a new school. He was also concerned about these architectural costs escalating as the project moves forward. Mr. Bertram explained that the Board selected this architect two and a half years ago and has been working with this architect using his firm's billing structure and the number of hours required for each task. Mr. McCarthy felt this expenditure of $150k is a "total waste of money."
John Ware(sp?) also expressed concern about paying the architect for something that hasn't been approved by the voters yet, and he asked the Board if this is the normal sequence of events. The Board responded that these services are required to be performed up front in order to obtain the State's approval to have a referendum. Mr. Bertram explained that this is the normal process for all school districts planning to build a new school or expand an existing school.
Stan Sebastian asked the Board to evaluate the statistics from the town and St. Clare's, which he says show declining birth rates in Denville, and he asked the Board to reflect on the viability of building a new school when the need is going away. Dr. Clark explained that the Board is dealing with children we have in school right now, not children being born or to be born, and we need a new school now. Lakeview's 1st grade is going to increase from 110 students in the 07-08 school year to 152 students in the 08-09 school year. Similarly, Lakeview's 4th grade is going from 137 to 153, Riverview's 3rd grade is going from 85 to 110, etc. Some grades are going down by 1 or 2 students, but many grades are increasing by a lot. The Board explained that they are relying on professional demographers who do this for a living. They are not basing the need for a new school on the number of babies born in a certain hospital because these numbers don't necessarily correlate to the number of students coming into our schools. We currently have children in trailers and substandard spaces (former closets) so we have the students right now to justify a new school.
Robert DiGiovanna expressed concern over the location of the proposed new school. He said the Board already owns 18 acres on Nicole Drive so he doesn't understand why we would buy land without studying whether the new school could be built on Nicole Drive. He also said former Mayor Spencer mentioned township property on Zeek Road at the last meeting and he wanted to know if the Board could swap the Nicole Drive property for the township property on Zeek and build the new school there, where it's relatively flat. He also stated that the proposed location on Franklin Avenue is a busy traffic area and would create a dangerous situation for the school buses. Dr. Clark responded that Mayor Hussa informed her that the Zeek Road property is not available for use as a school because some of it was purchased with Green Acres money (meaning it must remain open space), there are no sewers available, and there are road problems in that area. Dr. Clark also explained that the police department, fire department, and town engineer are all involved in this project and are working on the safest access route for the property on Franklin Ave.
Bob Grant asked if Lakeview was unsafe for students, Dr. Clark explained that we meet state standards. He also stated that the normal process for professional service contracts is to request proposals and asked if the Board did this, to which they replied no. He asked what the architect was originally hired for and the Board explained that he is the Board's architect for all architectural services, including upgrades to the existing schools, window replacements, siting trailers, etc., in addition to creating the plans for the new middle school. Mr. Grant asked if the $150k was coming from a surplus, but the Board explained that the $150k is coming from money not spent on the Riverview window project because the district is financing the project for less than originally budgeted. Mr. Grant asked if the $150k includes a wetlands study, and the Board responded that it includes all studies required by the state, including boundary study, site plan, land acquisition application, water/sewer, traffic study, etc. The Board also clarified that they are authorizing UP TO $150k, but if some part of the work is not required, the Board won't pay for it. Mr. Grant asked the Board to do a comprehensive study based on zoning, building permits, expansion plans, etc. to determine the need for the new school, and stated that the trailers are fine for the kids. He also submitted an Open Public Records Act request for detailed information on where the $150k is coming from.
Sandy Sebastian asked if the $150k includes the architect's services for looking at renovations to Valleyview to make it a third elementary school. The Board responded that the architect will include repairs/renovations to the existing schools in the referendum, so these plans must also be submitted to the state by April 3rd and these costs are included in the $150k.
Howard Shaw commended the Board for their efforts and stated that the town is not throwing the kids under a bus, but cost is a problem. We have a new municipal building to pay for, sewer assessments for some, and now a new school. He said people are asking for alternatives to this plan.
Jim DeCesare asked if the architect had included money for blasting because there is rock 3 feet underground at the new school site. The Board replied that a very conservative estimate for blasting costs was included by the architect. He also requested information on the capacity of each classroom and the courses being taught there to make sure they're not teaching frivolous courses in the available classroom space. He said he wants to see these numbers to justify a new school.
Ed Bannigan conceded that the schools are crowded, but was concerned that birthrates are going down and the population is shrinking so once we get through this large group of students, the schools will be too large. He also wanted the new school site on Franklin to be evaluated for wetlands before spending $150k on all the other studies.
John Ware(sp?) requested a copy of the demographer's study and requested a response from the Board on why the Nicole property is not being used for the new school. The Board responded that the property was very close to the amount of space needed for a new school so there would be no room for adjustment for wetlands, and the citizens committee that recommended building a new school wanted a more central location. The Board explained that a citizens committee was formed over a year and a half ago with 27 people to look at the existing school facilities, enrollment, demographers' studies, and offer recommendations. They looked at all different configurations for the schools (such as grade level schools) and they looked at expanding all three schools, but decided instead that a new middle school was needed. The committee then looked at available properties and determined a central location was needed, which would have been Indian Lake. The proposed property on Franklin Ave was the closest available property to the center of town. The committee did not prepare a written report, but issued a written resolution with its recommendations. All historical information used in this process is available to the public and will be discussed at the next meeting regarding the new middle school (not necessarily the next board meeting).
Kevin Weber asked why we couldn't have the public vote on spending the $150k and the Board again explained the process that these plans and studies are required first in order to gain the state's approval to proceed to a vote.
Valerie Steinfeld(sp?) asked if a financial analysis had been performed for the expansion of the three schools rather than a new school and the Board replied yes. She also asked if the expansion would have cost $69M and the Board replied no.
John McCarthy asked for further clarification on the $150k, such as whether there were lower and upper limits on the amount to be spent by the architect, but the Board explained that its based on hourly billing rates for the work that is needed for the submittal to the state. The Board again explained that if one part of the project doesn't need to be performed, then we won't pay for that work.
Tina Smith asked about the addition to Lakeview, which opened in 2001 and was already full, noting that we did the best with the information we had available at the time but it wasn't enough. She also asked about the increase in students at Lakeview next year, and Dr. Clark responded that Lakeview has 798 students this year and will have 821 students next year. She also asked about fire safety at Lakeview, and Dr. Clark explained that we can't violate a fire code so instead we're required to make changes in the school to meet the fire standards. For example, we can't have everyone eat in the cafeteria at Lakeview because that would be too many students in one room so we have to use the Old Gym/All Purpose Room for lunches as well. Having lunch in this space means we can't use the Old Gym for gym class, so fire safety issues have a big impact on our use of space in our schools.
Jeff Millington(sp?) asked the Board to table the resolution authorizing $150k for referendum services and instead use the $150k for the architect to look at expanding the facilities we have. The Board replied that this was done but the existing schools could not meet our needs, even if expanded.
Bob Grant stated that he reviewed the information used by the citizens committee and found no information indicating the committee had access to any information other than provided by the superintendent. The Board replied that some committee members brought their own information to the process, and information was provided by the superintendent, architect, and demographers. He asked where the majority of the growth has been in town, and Dr. Clark responded that the biggest student population is in the Indian Lake area. Mr. Grant also asked when we'll know the total cost of the project, and the Board repeated that cost information from bond counsel will be available at the next meeting on the middle school.
Kathy Millington(sp?) asked about the costs for refurbishing the existing schools and the Board responded that the information will be available at the next meeting on the middle school. The date for this meeting has not yet been set.
Jim DeCesare asked about the different demographers studies used by the Board, and Dr. Clark explained that they're using the Whitehall Study because it is the most current.
Barb DeLuna asked if there was money left over from the previous authorization for architect's services ($30k previously authorized but only $15k paid to date), could it be used to make the Riverview Vice Principal full-time next year ($7,500 needed).
Sandy Wills thanked the Board members for volunteering their time and efforts to try to do what's best for the kids. She asked for the educational benefits for this plan, so the public could understand the reasoning of why the Board is planning to do it this way. She asked at what point are we locked into a plan, and the Board explained that the plan must be submitted to the state by April 3rd.
Kevin Weber asked if any renovations would be done first on the existing schools before the new school is built, and the Board responded that no renovations are planned prior to the new school.
Bob Grant asked for clarification on the architect's fees to date. He asked if the referendum date will be September 9, 2008, to which the Board responded yes. And he asked if all cost information had to be submitted to the state by April 3rd. The Board responded that they have a limited window after that date to provide additional details on the application, but only a week or so.
John Ware(sp?) requested that the public's questions be answered prior to making the submittal to the state, specifically questions relating to the Nicole Drive property and alternatives to this plan.
Steve Waring(sp?) asked if the $150k would be spent by the architect prior to April 3rd, and the Board responded that the studies would continue after the submittal to the state on April 3rd.
Board Voting and Comments:
The Board unanimously voted to authorize up to $150,550 for the architect's referendum services.
Mr. Casse thanked the public for sharing their views, but stated that we need to move forward now for the referendum, and he noted that this has not been a hasty decision by the Board.
Mr. Johnson stated that the architect looked at expanding all 3 schools but there was no place to put the kids during construction (when certain areas of the schools would have to be vacated for construction activities) and there was no way to expand the gym and cafeteria at Valleyview which are in the center of the school. Regarding demographics, he said the schools are overcrowded now and the first grade is getting bigger next year. He asked about the demographer's studies, and Dr. Clark responded that high schools can project enrollment based on students already born but we don't have that option. We're using the Whitehall Study because their numbers appear to be most accurate. She requested a build-out study from the town and they responded that the numbers used in the Whitehall Study were the most accurate. Mr. Johnson noted that we're overcrowded already with 8 classes in trailers that are starting to deteriorate. We can't keep the kids out there forever. We need a plan to bring those classes back into the buildings. Mr. Johnson stated that it costs a lot of money to prepare one set of plans for submittal to the state, and it would double the cost to submit two sets of plans and have a dual referendum (i.e., giving voters the option of two different sites for the school). The Board chose the best location and is putting this location on the referendum only.
Mrs. Lindsay noted that the birth rates in town have not in the past correlated with the number of students that enroll in our schools. Just because the birthrate in town may be going down doesn't mean that the number of school-age children will go down.
Mr. Gellene noted that Denville used to be a starter home community, but now we're a second home community which means that people are moving into town with older children who weren't born in Denville. Mr. Gellene also noted that the Nicole Drive property has sewer issues, which would require a septic system for 800 people IF we could get it approved. The community also wanted a central location for equal access to the facility for PAL, sports fields, community events, etc.
Mr. Bertram commented that this has been a long process and the Board will have all historical information available at the next meeting regarding the middle school. The Board explained that this plan is already Plan B -- the original proposal included an auditorium, a second gym, etc., but all of these things were removed to bring the costs down. This "scaled back facility" that the Board is proposing to build on Franklin Ave is Plan B.
Other Topics:
The Board approved the annual school budget voting and school board elections for April 15, 2008 from 7am to 9pm. They also approved the continued use of the facilities by the Lakeland Hills YMCA for after-school care.
During the second public comment period, there were several questions regarding full-day kindergarten, but the Board responded that full-day kindergarten is not planned at this time. Even if the new middle school is built and Valleyview is converted to a 3rd middle school, we will not have enough space for full-day kindergarten, which would require at least 5 additional classrooms and 5 additional teachers. The Board's priority right now is the new middle school.
Next Meeting:
The next Board of Ed meeting will be held on Monday, March 3rd at 7:30 pm at Riverview School.