A report to the community
on the proposed Millburn Township
School Bond Referendum.

Three members of our Board of Education, each with children in the public schools, have publicly stated their opposition to the Board of Education’s proposed $40+ million bond referendum – What do they know that you should know?

What is the overall Issue?

The Administration's proposed $40+ million bond referendum is an irresponsible and unacceptable 'all or nothing' approach that has an unnecessarily high risk of failure. While there will always be a need for some investment in Township schools, the cost requested this year of $40+ million is not required. There are time and cost effective alternatives that exist and in some cases the Superintendent of Millburn Schools has even acknowledged these alternatives. The Board of Education and the School Administration need to present the community with these alternatives in a thoughtfully researched and cost documented analysis. And this needs to be done in a timely manner. If they would agree to reconsider their own alternatives, such an analysis could be completed in a few short weeks, if not in a few days.

What are the specific issues?

The primary issue facing the school system today is congestion at the Middle School (not the High School). However, this is an issue that must be solved now, not three to four years from now, as the Board of Education’s plan proposes.

The Board of Education could have already resolved the congestion issues at the Middle School if they had not been so narrowly focused on a massive construction effort without seriously considering other options. Instead of resolving the congestion problem now when it is required, the Board is trying to pursue an extraordinarily disruptive and expensive solution that will not be ready until 2008 or 2009. During the next three to four years of the proposed construction, the educational environment of the Middle School will be adversely affected, and safety will be compromised. This will affect approximately 2,000 students that will pass through the Middle School during the proposed construction period. There are better solutions than the proposed massive Middle School construction, but such solutions can only be achieved if the Board is creative and open-minded.

The Board of Education is aware of alternative solutions but adamantly refuses to provide the community with even a modest analysis of any of these alternatives.

Just recently the Superintendent finally admitted that one option, retaining the 6th grade in the elementary schools, could be completed at a fraction of the cost and much more quickly. While this is just one solution, it is a simple solution. Like so many other solutions, it was categorically rejected, and a cost analysis was never completed. This alternative alone would be time and cost effective and would avoid disruption at the Middle School. It is a solution that is implemented in many other New Jersey communities and in the past, K–6 was the standard grade configuration in Millburn. Other solutions also exist, but again the Board has not made even a modest attempt at providing a cost analysis for these other solutions either.

It is the absolute responsibility of the Board to provide alternatives and to begin to develop a well thought out back-up plan given the likelihood that this bond referendum will fail in December.

Alternatives should include, but not be limited to, grade reconfiguration, less intrusive construction, utilization of permanent modular building systems, improved utilization of existing facilities and the use of the Board of Education facility and other existing Township properties. The next three months, October–December, must not be wasted. The Board needs to develop alternative solutions and back-up plans that will be completed one to two years earlier than the currently proposed construction plan.

The community, as we know it, is not against spending money on our schools. However, it will not support an ill-conceived, high risk, no alternatives plan.

What many in the community are simply asking the Board to do is come forth with alternatives that they know exist — solutions that are both time and cost effective and make the most sense for our school system.

As current Board of Education member Brenda White said when she voted against this bond referendum in May — “I handed out flyers at the train station to get residents to vote for the last bond referendum but this bond referendum is just not the same”. Many residents and members of the organization that completed this report agree with her sentiment.

What is the biggest misconception?

The great misconception is that the High School and the Middle School (particularly the Middle School) are overcrowded.

While there are in fact specific areas of congestion in both schools, the crowding is limited to specific areas and most importantly classrooms are not overcrowded. Based on New Jersey State Department of Education capacity data, both schools actually have some excess capacity and will continue to have excess capacity for a number of years. What must be addressed are localized congestion issues. These types of issues do not cost $40+ million and take three to four years to fix.

These are some of the facts that you should know:

• The High School and Middle School are currently operating 18% and 7% below 'functional capacity'*, respectively. This means, that based on State guidelines, each school has capacity to handle 18% and 7% more students.
  
• Both schools will be operating below functional capacity for the next several years — four years for Middle School and six years for the High School. Again, based on these State guidelines both schools have room for more students and will continue to have room for several years.
  
• The Middle School and High School are anticipated to exceed functional capacity by a maximum of only 50 to 125 students over the next four to six years. Based on these numbers, the projected overcapacity at the Middle and High School is actually very small.
  
• Schools can operate above functional capacity. Livingston did not propose new construction until its high school was operating 10% above its functional capacity. As pointed out earlier, Millburn is operating 18% below functional capacity, not 10% above.
  
• The current construction plan adds capacity for at least 600 students yet our school district only projects a capacity shortage of less than 200 and most of that shortage does not occur until the next decade.

While both secondary schools are operating within their respective 'functional capacity', the congestion issue at the Middle School needs to be addressed earlier than the Administration's plan provides for. Based on the demographic studies, the situation at the Middle School is projected to get somewhat worse, with enrollment peaking in 2009 and then beginning to improve. The High School should see enrollment exceeding functional capacity in 2011, peaking in 2013 and then declining thereafter. For more information on the demographics issues affecting Millburn schools, please go to the following WeLoveMillburn.com links for past reports:

*Functional capacity is a NJDOE provided calculation that incorporates a 10% and 15% 'margin of safety' below the Middle School and High School total capacity, respectively. (See Table, below)

What is this report's reasonable conclusion and recommendation?

The lack of in-depth analysis and use of questionable demographic studies has led to a serious division of community support for the Board of Education's proposed school construction plan. While other options clearly exist, it is the absolute responsibility of the Board of Education and the Administration to research, document and present such options to the community and in a timely manner. Is the community to believe the Board of Education and School Administration when they say there are no acceptable options? The answer is NO.

Three Board members have already expressed their opposition to this ill-conceived $40+ million plan, but sadly, the other members of the Board of Education adamantly continue to refuse to offer alternatives. Even more disappointing, they seem to feel no obligation to offer any immediate solution to the Middle School congestion issues. Instead they remain focused on a plan that will take three to four years to complete and could well cause the quality of this community's school system to go backwards, not forward, during this time.

For the sake of moving this process forward towards solutions that will benefit our schools and community, citizens need to speak up and be heard. There is one and only one opportunity to express the community’s displeasure with the Board of Education, the School Administration and their ill-conceived construction plan — and that is at the polls in December.

The more you know, the more you'll vote NO.

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This report has been compiled and written by the Referendum Task Force, which is part of the new, grassroots, non-profit, informational group, WeLoveMillburn.com. The report is based upon several hundred man/woman hours of research and study of everything that has been presented or discussed by the current Board of Education and the School Administration. We believe: per student graduated, no town in New Jersey has spent as much money on its school system during the past 10 years as Millburn. There are already more than 1,000 residents who support the bond referendum issues raised by WeLoveMillburn.com. We have always been totally committed to the future success of our town and certainly to our children's education. We support Millburn education. We believe in spending the right amount, not any amount, on a well-conceived plan to address the needs of the students.

WeLoveMillburn.com
October 9, 2005