- Funds are primarily for upgrades and a 30,000-square-foot addition to the aging Stony Brook School.
- The referendum also includes district-wide improvements and would realign grades across the three schools.
- If approved, the owner of an average-assessed home would see a net property tax increase of about $30 per month.
BRANCHBURG – When Stony Brook School opened, Dwight Eisenhower was president, computers were the size of living rooms and students drilled on what to do in case of an atomic bomb attack.
Branchburg's population was nearing 3,500 and had almost doubled in the first post-war wave of suburban housing. The school district had an elementary school on Chester Avenue in Neshanic Station that had no indoor plumbing – students and teachers used outhouses in the corner of the property that's now the Marshall Street Park.
Now, more than six decades later, Branchburg's population has grown to 15,000 and could grow by a third by the end of this decade with the influx of affordable housing communities.
The township has built only one new school, Whiton Road, since the 1960s when Branchburg Central opened. That facility was built in 1997 and expanded in 2003.
The township's growing population and the need to upgrade the schools to meet today’s demands, particularly Stony Brook, are the main reasons why the district is presenting a $70 bond referendum to township voters on Tuesday, Sept. 16.
Polls will be open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the municipal building on Route 202 and Old York Road and at the Station House on Olive Street in Neshanic Station.
“Like many of you, I am proud to live and raise a family in Branchburg,” said Board of Education President Vincent Carpentier. “We are a tight-knit community that values high-quality education. We can’t ignore the fact that our buildings need more space and facility improvements to maintain our exceptional reputation.”
Most of the referendum is focused on improvements to Stony Brook School, a building that is showing its age.
The Stony Brook proposal includes:
- A 30,000-square-foot addition.
- A dozen new classrooms, including a new wing for special subjects. Every available classroom and office is in use, with several shared spaces that impact small-group instruction, testing accommodations, and specialized programming.
- A gymnasium with a stage for student programs and community use. The school's “gymnatorium” now serves as a gym, cafeteria, performance and event space, which results in a scheduling nightmare, school officials say.
- New restrooms, a nurse's suite and an expanded cafeteria kitchen. A tour of the school found the nurse's suite is undersized and the two student bathrooms, used by more than 300 students, are dark, cramped and antiquated.
- A renovated Media Center, a new Guidance Suite and a new Design & Technology Lab.
District-wide improvements in the referendum are:
- HVAC, fire alarm, generators, surge protectors, and other system upgrades to improve efficiency, comfort, and safety maintaining infrastructure for decades.
- Indoor and outdoor enhancements to classrooms, media centers, design and technology labs, art and music rooms, hallways, lighting, windows and other infrastructure.
Passage of the referendum would also lead to the realignment of the grades in the district's three schools with pre-K-2 at Whiton, grades 3-5 at Stony Brook and grades 6-8 at Branchburg Central.
Branchburg students in grades 9-12 attend Somerville High School.
"Every project in this plan has been carefully evaluated by the Board of Education, reviewed by our district’s architects, and approved by the New Jersey Department of Education," Carpentier said. "The proposal addresses specific needs, from repairing aging infrastructure, to maintaining reasonable class sizes, to creating modern classrooms that prepare students for the future."
School officials also say the improvements will allow Branchburg to maintain small classes for its enrollment of more than 1,300 students.
"At the heart of this referendum are our students, the children of Branchburg," Carpentier said. "On Sept. 16, the community will consider a proposal that ensures our schools provide learning spaces worthy of the high-quality education that defines Branchburg and that our students deserve."
If the $70 million referendum is approved, the state would contribute $13.5 million to offset the local property tax impact.
The owner of a home assessed at Branchburg’s average of $567,121 would see a $30 a month net property tax increase if the referendum passes.
The referendum is timed with retirement of debt from a previous bond referendum.
The district has mounted an informational campaign, including a website, video, township-wide mailers, social media updates, and two public forums.
Despite the effort, the referendum drew criticism from two Township Committee members at its Sept. 8 meeting.
Saying he was "very concerned" about the cost of the referendum, Mayor Tom Young said the school board was making a "huge ask" for $70 million.
"I don't think the town is going to vote for it," Young said, adding it's "an awful lot of money to ask for in one shot."
Young speculated that if the referendum passes, "it will crowd out our ability to fund things."
Committeeman James Schworn also expressed doubts about the referendum.
"They're asking for a blank check for $70 million," he said, echoing Young’s warning that it may "prevent the township from more pressing needs."
Based on a 2022 non-binding referendum, the Township Committee bonded $28 million to buy two properties in the Route 22 corridor in the North Branch section to block warehouse development. The township has yet to unveil plans about the future of the properties.
Carpentier defended the referendum.
"This plan is fiscally responsible," he said. "By acting now, the district can make critical repairs before they become more costly emergencies. The Board of Education has secured $13.5 million in state funding, nearly 20 percent of the total project cost, and timed this referendum with the retirement of prior debt, helping to stabilize the tax rate for Branchburg residents. Approving this referendum protects taxpayers from higher costs in the future while safeguarding the long-term value of our schools, our community, and most importantly, our children’s success."
Email: mdeak@MyCentralJersey.com
