As part of an ongoing effort to educate voters, the Oct. 17 public meeting of the Montville Township Board of Education will include a presentation by the architect who has been a key adviser in plans for a bond referendum.
C. William Ross, a senior associate with Denville, N.J.-based Parette Somjen Architects, will talk through the projects that make up the two-question proposal on the school district’s Dec. 12 ballot.
Voters will be asked for permission to borrow funds through the sale of bonds, providing funding for long-lasting school improvements and using local property taxes to buy them back over time.
The Board of Education will meet at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 17 at the Montville Township Municipal Building, 195 Changebridge Road.
Time will be allotted for questions by board trustees and Montville Township residents.
Ross will review how additions at each MTPS elementary school would help ease a space crunch caused by a steady increase in enrollment, with more students in the forecast because of natural population growth and new housing developments. He will also explain how renovations to existing rooms would better meet needs for small-group instruction, such as for students who struggle with one subject or excel beyond their peers.
Over recent years, MTPS has repurposed space throughout the elementary schools to meet those needs. Some classrooms are divided by tabletop partitions to enable two, three or four lessons to be taught simultaneously. The bond proposal seeks funding to renovate certain classrooms that are now divided by simple partitions, instead floor-to-ceiling walls.
The first ballot question proposes new construction of 23 classrooms total across all five elementary schools. It also proposes dividing 14 classrooms to make 28 rooms that are right-sized for small-group instruction. For Hilldale, William Mason and Woodmont elementary schools, the first ballot question also proposes new construction of flexible, large-group instructional areas.
Ross will share plans to upgrade the Heating, Cooling and Ventilation (HVAC) systems at every building except Montville Township High School, where no immediate HVAC improvements are needed, and Valley View Elementary School, where work has already been completed on those projects. He will also outline the next steps in the district’s on-going security enhancements.
The second ballot question encompasses HVAC systems and security vestibules. The bond proposal targets MTPS buildings where heating systems are old to the point of repair risk and energy inefficiency. Improved systems would be more efficient and do a better job with air exchange – the function of bringing fresh air into a room.
The second ballot question also proposes construction or modifications at five schools to establish more secure, two-stage entry vestibules. Visitors would be able to request permission to enter a school only after someone inside has verified the person’s identity and purpose for being on-site.
The district’s regular budget set aside funding for security modifications over the past two years at Cedar Hill Elementary School and Robert R. Lazar Middle School; the referendum requests funding to create those vestibules at the Montville Township High School and at Hilldale, William Mason, Valley View, and Woodmont Elementary Schools.
Importantly, Ross will join Superintendent Thomas Gorman and Business Administrator Katine Slunt in explaining the state aid program that offers school districts a special kind of funding when certain capital improvements are paid for with voter-approved bonds.
The improvements proposed in Question 1 are estimated to cost $53 million. Of that, nearly $6.6 million would come from the district’s Capital Reserve fund – a sort of savings account – and almost $3.7 million would come from state aid. The property tax impact is estimated to average $326 per year for a home assessed at $533,572, the mathematical average in Montville Township.
The improvements proposed in Question 2 are estimated to cost about $17 million. Of that, nearly $5.8 million would come from state aid. The property tax impact is estimated to average $84 per year for a home assessed at $533,572, the mathematical average in Montville Township.
Question 1 must pass for Question 2 to pass. If voters reject Question 1 but approve Question 2, neither proposal would pass.
Full details are at www.montville.net/referendum, the MTPS webpages that are dedicated to referendum information, including voter forms and deadlines.
Another public opportunity to learn about the projects and ask questions is scheduled for Nov. 29. MTPS will host a webinar-styled virtual forum with information shared by panelists including the district’s financial and legal advisers.
That virtual forum will start at 7 p.m. A Zoom link will be posted at www.montville.net/referendum shortly before the event, and the forum will be recorded for future viewing.
The in-person October 17 Bond Referendum presentation will be held during the regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting. The public is encouraged to attend at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 17 at the Montville Township Municipal Building, 195 Changebridge Road.