By Donald Gilpin

Princeton Public Schools (PPS) has been moving towards a $89.1 million January bond referendum for expansion and renovations, and a decision on that was anticipated at Tuesday night’s Board of Education (BOE) meeting, which took place after press time. [Update: the resolution passed 9-0.]

The resolution on the table called for Princeton voters to weigh in on January 28 on a proposal to expand and upgrade school buildings at Community Park and Littlebrook elementary schools, as well as expansion and renovations at Princeton Middle School (PMS) and renovations at Princeton High School (PHS).

The proposed resolution comes in three parts, with a total tax impact estimated at $543 annually for the owner of a home at Princeton’s average assessed value of $853,136, after anticipated reductions through state aid.

The referendum, if approved by voters, would address aging infrastructure and space needs as the town anticipates about 1,000 units of new housing in the next five to seven years with additional population growth and state-mandated development on the horizon. Most of the approved new housing is being built in the Community Park and Littlebrook school zones.

“District leaders and Board members put extensive thought into forming a plan that would create the space we need while preserving our beloved neighborhood schools for the community,” said Interim PPS Superintendent Kathie Foster. “if we don’t take steps to prepare for the additional students, we will face widespread redistricting and larger class sizes, and we might have to repurpose programming due to lack of classroom space.”

The proposal would be separated into three ballot questions with Questions 2 and 3 contingent on the passage of the previous question. If all questions are approved the state will pay 14.7 percent of debt service aid for the projects.

The projects, sent to the New Jersey Department of Education in April, were recently approved by the state, along with confirmation of debt service aid eligibility for the proposed renovations and expansion.

The BOE decided to separate the proposal into three parts in order to give voters more options in deciding on the extent of their support.

“All the projects recommended by the administration are needed to accommodate growth and maintain our programming,” said BOE President Dafna Kendal. “The school district does not operate in a vacuum, and we are aware of other recent impacts to the taxpayer. After much discussion, the Board and administration believe that a three-question format is the best approach to let voters decide their additional level of investment in the public schools.”

Question 1 on the ballot would focus on expansion and renovations at Community Park and HVAC upgrades at PHS, with an estimated cost of $37.9 million (annual tax impact $227, based on average assessed home).

If approved, Question 1 would mean accommodating more students with six new classrooms, four small-group instruction rooms, and two flexible learning spaces at Community Park as well as an expanded cafeteria, a new, larger gym/multipurpose room, and a larger music room and library. The upgrading of “end-of-life” HVAC at PHS would include about 250 classroom units throughout the building, with energy-efficient improvements estimated to provide $150,000 to $200,000 in annual cost savings.

Bond proposal Question 2, which cannot pass unless Question 1 passes, would focus on PMS expansion and renovations and PHS renovations, with an estimated cost of $38.3 million (total annual tax impact of Q1 and Q2 together is $458 based on average assessed home).

PMS would add two new classrooms; three new flex spaces to accommodate larger or smaller classes as needed; two new science labs; and a new multipurpose room with space for assemblies, physical education, and indoor recess, with off-hours access for community use.

There would also be expanded vocal music and band rooms, an expanded cafeteria and kitchen, expanded main office with small meeting and conference spaces, and renovations to accommodate the district technology department, which is moving from the high school.

An October 25 PPS press release notes that PMS is already at capacity with undersized cafeteria, STEM, physical education, and music spaces; and that expansion is needed to accommodate the current population as well as anticipated enrollment increases.

Planned PHS renovations in Question 2 would include the conversion of current district technology offices into additional student instructional spaces and the updating of the Numina Art Gallery, which serves as an instructional and presentation space.

Question 3 in the bond proposal, which cannot pass unless Questions 1 and 2 are approved, focuses on expansion and renovations at Littlebrook, at an estimated cost of $12.9 million.

Those improvements would include six new classrooms, two small-group instruction rooms, a new vocal music room, and renovation of the current student support services area and the kitchen. “Littlebrook upgrades to add space would better support current programming and manage growth while maintaining small class sizes,” the PPS press release states.