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WARREN-- Watchung Hills Regional High
School students won't be attending class
in trailers after voters approved a $3
million bond Tuesday that school
officials said was needed to complete
upgrades.
Voters in all three municipalities
voted in favor of the referendum. In
Warren, the margin was 1,626 to 1,033 in
favor; in Watchung, 397-289 in favor,
and in Long Hill, 711-506 in favor.
In total, the question passed easily,
2,734 to 1,828 opposed.
Interim Superintendent Frances C.
Stromsland said district officials were
thrilled about the support of all three
municipalities.
"All three towns supported the
referendum, and we had a real solid
majority of voters that supported the
referendum, and we're so grateful to
them for allowing us to support the
project," she said.
Board President Barbara Vitarius said
it felt good to move forward with the
project.
"We're just elated over here," she
said. "We're just so happy that we can
move forward now with the project and we
can just move on now and concentrate on
educating these kids the best way we
can."
Voters narrowly approved a $41.9
million referendum about three years ago
to pay for the entire project. Officials
notified the public last year that an
additional $3.2 million was needed to
complete the project.
The referendum called for
constructing 24 instruction spaces,
including 13 classrooms and five science
labs; a computer laboratory; two
fine-arts rooms; new band, orchestra and
choral music rooms; a television suite;
and a stagecraft area.
In addition, the project will include
building an auxiliary gymnasium and a
theater, as well as an entrance for
access to administrative offices and the
theater.
The original $42 million plan called
for the construction of a central
building connecting the south and north
wings; 87,000 square feet of new
construction and 37,000 square feet of
renovations. In addition to classroom
space, the renovations included
installation of sprinklers and alarms;
as well as upgrades to the security,
technology and electrical systems.
Of the $3.2 million in the
referendum, $260,560 will be taken from
capital reserves, and the rest will be
bonded. The cost to the property
taxpayer would range from $14 to $20 a
year for residents of an average home
priced at $384,000 in Long Hill;
$635,000 in Warren; and $721,000 in
Watchung.
Demographic estimates show that by
2009, the high school will have an
enrollment of 2,500 and be near
capacity. The school currently houses
1,959 students, an increase from 1,300
students in 2000.
Jeff Hurwitz, a Warren resident for
14 years, supported the referendum. At
the Warren Middle School on Tuesday
night, he said, "We need to finish what
we started. All work will have to come
to a stop, and then $40 million would
have been spent on nothing."
David Cole, a Warren resident for 19
years, also favored the referendum.
"I think we have to do it because if
we don't do it, they'll stop the
construction," he said after voting at
Mount Horeb Elementary School. "And
it'll cost more money in the long run if
they stop it."
But Joseph Barrett, a Warren resident
for 46 years, opposed the referendum.
"I opposed it because I want to see
somebody grab hold of the money," he
said. "I'm tired of people spending
money and we don't have a tight rein
it."
Cliff Weiner, a Warren resident for
15 years, said disputing the referendum
was silly.
"It's just a silly vote," he said
outside Mount Horeb Elementary School.
"It isn't worth getting upset about.
It's such a silly dispute."
If construction isn't completed, the
district will have to bring in trailers
to meet the enrollment needs. The
trailers, which would have cost about $2
million per year, would have been funded
from the annual budget, Watchung Hills
Regional Board of Education member Rob
Horowitz said.
Stromsland estimated that 75 percent
of the project is complete. But without
additional funding, the district would
have been legally required to stop the
current construction, resulting in about
55,000 square feet of uninhabitable
space, officials said.
Renovations started about two years
ago and are completed throughout the
South Building, with the exception of
the old auditorium and TV studio,
expected to be completed in the summer.
The project incorporated about $12
million in renovations to an older
portion of the South Building dating to
1956, said Steve Davies, director of
student safety and security.
Costs of the project would more than
double as a result of a work stoppage
prior to actual completion of the
project, Horowitz has said. |
