Middle Educators Meet to Discuss Roof, Solar Panels

COURT HOUSE — What a rotten time to have to fix the roof.
The economy looks like a ski-slope, the state is upending every rock for elusive money, and taxpayers are worried about eating. Amid such gloom, Middle Township Board of Education must weigh costly roof repairs to one of its schools, among other capital improvements.
Those roof repairs were one of items discussed at a special Wednesday, Jan. 7 work session.
Elementary No. 2, which houses third, fourth and fifth grades, and is one of the district’s newer buildings, is in dire need of roof repairs, according to Vice President Dennis Roberts.
One of the ideas discussed was, while repairing the roof, install solar panels that would generate power and income for the district. Trouble is, those panels come with a hefty price tag.
Yes, the state will pay 40 percent of their cost, and they may pay off long term by offsetting utility bills and reduce the building’s carbon footprint, but taxpayers would have to approve the original outlay in a referendum.
Now’s not the time for any referendum, declared board member George DeLollis.
If the economy were to do a quick about face, he said he may reconsider, but as the economy is today, with taxpayers facing an uncertain future, he would not support a referendum, he told peers.
Another item discussed at the meeting was full-day pre-kindergarten for 3 and 4-year-olds.
However, linked to dwindling resources, the board was not ready to move ahead with building plans.
One concept was building five additional classrooms at Elementary No. 1, or a shifting a grade to Elementary 2. Neither plan was acted on by the board.
The board will explore all nearby vacant classrooms, perhaps at the county Special Services School in Crest Haven or similar facilities as those at Cape Christian Academy on a rental basis.
As board member Daniel Money indicated, it is less expensive to put a child on a bus than to build new classrooms, especially in the present economic state.
To date, the state Department of Education has not mandated the full-day programs for those young children. However, the district wants to have explored possibilities so it will have a plan in place, if a directive is received.
An Abbott District, the closest is Millville, has a very successful 3 and 4-year-old pre-K program, said Superintendent Michael Kopakowski.
Who will change the diapers of untrained 3-year-olds? asked board member Anthony Anzelone. Classroom aides, was the reply.
Would everyone with a 3-year-old send their child to full-day pre-kindergarten? That was one of the questions without answer. Many may not while others would view it as a free day-care service.
However, Money said it may be in the best educational interests of the children to help them in later schooling if they are exposed to such pre-kindergarten skills. He also said his 3-year-old granddaughter daily attends such a program in another district.
Another item discussed was removal of the bus maintenance garage east of Elementary No. 1 and building another elsewhere, since underground tanks at the site leaked diesel fuel, which has not affected any homes’ drinking water wells, but which is drifting eastward toward Garden State Parkway. Remediation is a must, the board agreed, but how best to move forward? It wondered.
Confronted with so many questions, the board asked Kopakowski and Administrator Walter Landgraf to gather figures for discussion at the regular January board meeting set for Thursday, Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Administration Building.
For a more in-depth account of the meeting, see next Wednesday’s Herald print edition.