Viewing Upcoming PPS Referendum As a Moral Good for the Community
To the Editor:
I am writing in support of the upcoming Princeton Public Schools referendum (January 28, 2025) which will approve raising money to alleviate crowding in many of the schools and update the high school HVAC system, and to encourage Princetonians to vote “Yes” to all three questions.
As a supporter of both public education and more affordable housing, I view the referendum as a moral good for our community. Expanding Community Park, Littlebrook, and Princeton Middle School will accommodate the predicted growth in the number of students in the district as well as current overcrowding and will also prevent more redistricting. The new classrooms planned for Community Park will allow more students living in that neighborhood to walk to school instead of being bussed elsewhere. Expansion of Littlebrook, where my granddaughter is a third grader, would allow the restoration of rooms for the school’s music and language programs. Changes to Princeton Middle School with close to 800 students, with nearly 900 expected, will prevent existing crowded conditions from worsening. The high school’s HVAC system was old and poorly functioning when our youngest child graduated in 2010, and 15 years later it has not improved.
The district has been judicious in planning for these expansions and improvements. They cannot be paid for out of existing operating funds because of the state-imposed 2 percent cap on the amount school taxes can grow year to year. A bond referendum is also necessary to obtain maximum state aid ($19-20 million, or 14-15 percent of the total project) to subsidize part of the cost of the improvements, aid that is available for renovations but not new construction.
I urge you to support the referendum on January 28 for the sake of our community and its children.