Andrea Spalla | Town Topics

Historically Low Rate For School Bond Means Savings for Taxpayers

At last week’s meeting of the Princeton Public School (PPS) Board of Education, Finance Committee Chair Dan Haughton reported on the recent bond sale for which six bids had been received. The sale was completed by public auction on January 15 with the Chicago-based investment firm Hutchinson, Shockey, Erley & Co. beating competitors PNC Capital, UBS Financial, Raymond James, Janney Montgomery Scott, and Bank of America/Merrill Lynch.

The $10,980,000 bond comes with a net interest rate of 1.43 percent. According to a press release from PPS, this is an “historically low lending rate.”

The bond is for work slated under a special referendum approved last September. According to Stephanie Kennedy, business administrator for Princeton Public Schools, the lower-than-anticipated rate will translate into substantial savings for taxpayers.КWhen Princeton voters approved the facilities spending, the interest rate was expected to be 2.5 percent.

The 1.43 percent interest rate means that the debt service will be more than half a million dollars less than was originally projected. A number of factors led to the lower interest rate, not least of which was the district’s Aaa rating by Moody’s, re-affirmed this month after interviewing Ms. Kennedy and reviewing the district’s financials, including the most recent audit. The Aaa rating is held by only a handful of school districts in New Jersey.

“This is great news for the taxpayers,” said Ms. Kennedy. “This means that we can get all of the projects done for fewer tax dollars over 10 years than we had originally projected.” With the successful sale of the bond, the district can move forward with the planned construction projects, many of which will go out for bid in February and be completed by this fall.

Mr. Haughton commended Ms. Kennedy for her financial stewardship. He also reported on increased revenue from the JWMS pool, which amounted to $100,000 last year. Because of a hike in fees, more is expected this year.

The meeting was attended by assistant superintendents Lewis Goldstein and Bonnie Lehet as well as Board President Timothy Quinn and members: Rebecca Cox, Dorothy Bedford, Andrea Spalla, Daniel Haughton, Molly Chrein, Patrick Sullivan, and Martha Land. Absent were Afsheen Shamsi and Evelyn Spann.

The board heard reports from Mr. Quinn, several other board committees, and voted on several agenda items

Superintendent Judith A. Wilson’s “Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying Report,” was approved for adoption as was the Multidimensional Principal Performance Rubric (MPPR) for principal evaluation as required by the State. The rubric intends to promote the development of quality professional practices by supporting self-assessment, reflection, feedback, goal-setting, and evaluation.

In her report, Ms. Wilson congratulated the PHS Studio Band for its performance at the Kennedy Center on Inauguration Day and two PPS teachers at the Community Park Elementary School for winning Sustainable Princeton Leadership Awards: science teacher John Emmons and science lab teacher Martha Friend.

The budget was briefly discussed but since no announcement has yet been made by the State (awaiting Governor Christie’s budget address February 26), no action was taken. PPS received a $10,000 grant from the Asian Society’s Confucius Classrooms Network, in support of projects in its Mandarin program, as well as an additional $1,000 travel grant.

John Witherspoon Middle School (JWMS) Principal Jason Burr introduced presentations by JWMS teacher Nina Lavado and Lori Rotz, assistant principal at Princeton High School.

Ms. Rotz reported on her recent seven-day service project building a school in Constanza in the Dominican Republic, a project sponsored by Lifetouch and in coordination with the National Association of Secondary School Principals. “It was an experience like no other,” said Ms. Rotz.

Ms. Lavado spoke on the “Parent University of PPS” and about “Latinos en Progreso” (Latinos Moving Forward), the program she founded two years ago at JWMS (see story on page 7). “Latinos en Progreso” will be under the umbrella of the new overarching group “Parent University of PPS,” aimed at supporting parents whose children are enrolled in ESL; those who haven’t mastered the English language; or those children receiving academic support.

“This is a model for parent involvement,” said Mr. Quinn, who went on to ask whether more could be done to help parents with basic computer skills.

Ms. Wilson announced that there will be a public forum on the school’s budget at the next meeting on March 5. There will be no meeting in February. For more information, including ongoing updates on the referendum work, visit: www.princetonk12.org.

Quinn and Spalla Will Lead Board of Education; Voter Turnout for April Election Was Low

Timothy Quinn is the new president, and Andrea Spalla is the new vice-president of the Princeton Regional Schools Board of Education.

At its reorganization meeting last week, outgoing President Rebecca Cox said that she was upholding a tradition established by previous presidents in serving just two, one-year terms, and then bowing out. Ms. Cox nominated her successor, saying that she and Mr. Quinn, who had been vice-president during her tenure, were “partners for the last two years,” and that he is “more than well-prepared to lead the Board.”

The reorganization meeting provided an opportunity to welcome and administer the oath of office to recently elected Board members Martha Land and Patrick Sullivan, and returning member Rebecca Cox. All three will be serving three-year terms.

Superintendent Judy Wilson and several Board members made a point of thanking area residents for approving the 2012-13 school year budget by a vote of 1,193 for and 360 against. Ms. Wilson noted that while “voter turnout was not as high as it usually is,” this may have been due to the fact that there was one uncontested race (Mr. Sullivan, in the Township), and a “non-controversial budget.”К

After his election, Mr. Quinn assumed the seat of meeting Chair, which had been temporarily filled by Board Secretary Stephanie Kennedy. He said that he looked forward to working with “a remarkable, very intelligent Board of Education that will foster collegiality and openness in community and among stakeholders.” As they do each year, the Board members then took turns reciting their Code of Ethics.

Adoption of the schools’ K through 12 curricula, including courses, textbooks, workbooks, and ancillary materials for the 2012-13 school year followed. Curriculum areas include language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, world languages; visual and performing arts, technology, career education, and physical education/health.

Incoming Finance Committee Chair Dan Haughton reported that, with the current school year winding down, the state had mandated no major purchases after April 15. Efforts to reduce costs in the coming year include a 25 percent (a “six-figure number”) discount in kilowatt hours as the result of participation in an energy-saving consortium; and a $150,000 to $200,000 savings as a result of changing the district’s prescription drug carrier. Purchasing supplies through a state arrangement will also provide a break.

Facilities Committee Chair Dorothy Bedford said that while renovations will occur at all district six schools during the coming year, it was agreed to focus on making John Witherspoon Middle School the most energy-efficient building among them.