Princeton BOE Approves Move To Submit Referendum Paperwork To NJDOE

PRINCETON, NJ – On Tuesday, Princeton Public Schools (PPS) approved a motion to submit paperwork to the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) seeking approval for a referendum.

The referendum will give PPS access to funds for new classrooms and spaces at Community Park Elementary, Littlebrook Elementary, Princeton Middle School, and Princeton High School.

The referendum vote is scheduled for December 2024 or January 2025, depending upon the timing of NJDOE approvals.

The cost of the proposed new construction and renovations is between $85 to $89.5 million, which does not include potential state aid. The specific dollar amount and referendum questions for voters to consider will be determined after the NJDOE reviews the application and advises which portion of the costs are eligible for NJ State funding, the school district said in a news release.

The estimated additional tax on the average assessed home of $848,037 is $551.70.

More than 1,000 new housing units are in the pipeline and are expected to be completed over the next five years. If the referendum is approved by voters, Community Park and Littlebrook, which happen to be closest to planned housing, will each have six additional classrooms.

In addition, flexible small group rooms and expanded and updated core spaces will be added to both schools.

The plan also includes additional classrooms and core spaces at Princeton Middle School, and improvements to the aging HVAC system at Princeton High School, along with the repurposing of space to create three new classrooms.

There will be no new construction at Johnson Park Elementary or Riverside Elementary. But the new classrooms at Littlebrook and Community Park will enable them to receive more students, taking the pressure of increasing enrollment off Riverside and Johnson Park, district officials said.

“We have worked hard to come up with a plan to maintain small class sizes with a focus on neighborhood schools,” Acting Superintendent Kathie Foster said.

“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.”

Modifications were made to the plans based on suggestions from the community and PPS staff, Foster said.

Dr. Foster praised architect George Duthie, principal at Fraytak Veisz Hopkins Duthie PC, for his innovative architectural plans and responsiveness to the community. She also thanked Michael Zuba and Pat Gallagher, who have provided PPS with demographic planning and projections for the last five years.

On Tuesday evening, architect George Duthie, principal at Fraytak Veisz Hopkins Duthie PC presented updated architectural plans to the Board of Education and the public. The plan is designed to provide enough classroom and common area space for students for at least the next five to seven years.

At Community Park, the six new classrooms would allow each grade level to have two sections of DLI students -who learn in both Spanish and English - and two sections of traditional-track students. An addition at the back of the school would house the new classrooms, as well as a new gym and multipurpose room. The music room, the library, the kitchen, and the cafeteria will be renovated. The soccer field behind the school, used for recess, would be slightly realigned but would retain its current size and be easily accessible at lunch and recess.

At Littlebrook, six new classrooms would be built. There would also be a new vocal music room, and renovations that would create rooms for student support services.

Renovations and expansion at Princeton Middle School would create seven new rooms, including new science classrooms. There would be new multifunctional rooms that could be configured for small-group instruction. Additionally, the vocal music and band rooms would be renovated to better accommodate large ensembles.

Other planned changes at PMS include an expanded cafeteria, a new entrance to the building, and a reconfigured front office. The new entrance to PMS, along with two new corridors and an outdoor covered walkway, would make a difference in the way students navigate the hallways during passing periods and lunch, said Mr. Duthie. The flow of student traffic will be greatly improved when students have better, more direct ways to get from one wing to another.

At Princeton High School, around $10 million would be used to upgrade the building’s HVAC system. With funds from previous referendums, other schools have had new and improved HVAC systems installed.

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

Kendal described the plan as “a well thought out and reasonable way to address the growth that we are seeing in our community.”

If approved by the NJDOE and Princeton voters, bidding on the project could begin in early 2025. The first phase of the renovation project would begin in June 2026.

The second phase would start in May 2027. Work would be completed by December 2027 or January 2028.

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