By Donald Gilpin

At its meeting on Tuesday night, April 30, which took place after press time, the Princeton Board of Education (BOE) was expected to approve a proposal for a $85 to $89.5 million facilities referendum, planned for December 2024 or January 2025, and also a 2024-25 budget of $119.2 million.

The referendum proposal, for new construction and renovation at Community Park Elementary (CP), Littlebrook Elementary (LB), Princeton Middle School (PMS), and Princeton High School (PHS), is anticipated to be submitted to the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE). The specific dollar amount, which could be smaller with the inclusion of potential state aid, and the final form of the referendum questions will be determined after the NJDOE reviews the application and advises which portion of the costs is eligible for state funding.

Preliminary estimates indicate that additional tax for this referendum would be $551.70 on the average assessed Princeton home of $848,037, according to a Princeton Public Schools (PPS) press release.

This referendum, if approved, would provide an additional six classrooms for both CP and LB, the two elementary schools closest to Princeton’s new and planned housing units.

Also, both schools would add more flexible small group rooms and expanded, updated core spaces. PMS would also add classrooms and core spaces, and renovations at PHS would include improvements to the HVAC system and repurposing of space to create three new classrooms.

Though no new construction is planned at Johnson Park Elementary (JP) or Riverside Elementary, the new classrooms at LB and CP would accommodate more neighborhood students to mitigate increasing enrollment pressures at JP and Riverside. The new classrooms at CP, a Dual Language Immersion (DLI) school, would allow the reintroduction of traditional classes for neighborhood students who are not part of DLI.“We have worked hard to come up with a plan to maintain small class sizes with a focus on neighborhood schools,” said Acting Superintendent Kathie Foster, as quoted in the PPS press release.

“Working closely with our architects, demographers, and the community, we have developed a plan to add enough classrooms to welcome and accommodate new students as our community continues to grow,” she continued.

The referendum plans have gradually evolved, with modifications incorporated based on suggestions from the community and the PPS staff. “We value input from our parents, our staff members, and community members,” said Foster. “When possible, we incorporated their suggestions into the plan.”

Foster went on to praise architect George Duthie, principal at Fraytak Veisz Hopkins Duthie PC, for his innovative plans and responsiveness to the community, and she thanked demographic planners Michael Zuba and Pat Gallagher.

Duthie was scheduled last night to present to the BOE and to the public updated architectural plans designed to provide enough classroom and common area space for students for at least the next five to seven years.

“This referendum maximizes the use of existing spaces and will add the needed capacity for additional students who are projected to enroll in our schools,” said BOE President Dafna Kendal. “This will allow us to take advantage of the state aid formula that favors renovations over new construction.”

Emphasizing meeting the needs of the growing community “in a fiscally responsible way,” Kendal, described the plan as “a well-thought-out and reasonable way to address the growth that we are seeing in the community, including the building of new homes that is already underway.”

If approved by the NJDOE and by Princeton voters, bidding on the project could begin in early 2025 with the first phase of renovation beginning in June 2026 and all work completed by December 2027 or January 2028.

2024-25 Budget

The PPS budget for the coming school year, which was also expected to be approved at the April 30 meeting, includes a $108.6 million operating budget, $4.8 million for debt service, and a $5.8 million special revenue fund that is not funded by local taxes.

With the new budget the estimated increase in the effective school tax levy for Princeton taxpayers for the 2024 calendar year would be less than 2.3 percent.

“I am pleased that we have a budget for the next school year that allows us to maintain our educational excellence while minimizing tax increases,” said Foster.

PPS Business Administrator Matt Bouldin noted, “In the face of wide-ranging cost pressures, Princeton Public Schools has effectively managed school budget impacts to our taxpayers while delivering on our educational mission. Over the past nine years, 2015 through 2024, PPS has limited the effective school tax increase to 1.94 percent annually.”

In 2024-25 PPS will receive $5.8 million in state aid, an increase of about $477,000 over the current budget year. The operating budget for the district will increase by $2.33 million.

The appropriation for Princeton Charter School (PCS) for 2024-25 is $8.1 million, a 4.5 percent increase in expenses. Salaries and benefits for the district, along with funding for PCS, account for 83 percent of all PPS expenses.

Bouldin pointed out the effects of inflation, with the district facing higher employment, energy, and transportation costs. PPS transportation costs have increased by 69 percent in the last three years.

The local tax levy is expected to account for 81 percent of the district’s revenue in the upcoming fiscal year, with state aid making up 8 percent and tuition from the Cranbury School District adding 5 percent of revenue, Princeton University adding 2 percent of revenues, and miscellaneous revenue amounting to 1 percent of the total.

“The Board is grateful to the administration for the time they spent reviewing staffing levels across the district and making adjustments as needed to ensure that we had the appropriate staffing levels at each school,” said Kendal. “Our first commitment is always to the students and maintaining educational excellence.”