BY JOHN SNYDER
OF PASCACK PRESS
Voters in Westwood and Township of Washington should have received sample ballots by now posing to them a single question, answerable at the polls Dec. 12: whether to invest approximately $24 million to house the district’s 6th, 7th, and 8th grades under one roof.
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District leadership has worked toward a “true” middle school for more than a year, saying the plan follows best practices for students’ academic, developmental, social, and emotional growth and would be an asset to the two communities.
“Bringing together students in grades 6-8 will afford Westwood Regional School District students a complete program and strong foundation for a successful high school experience and future,” Superintendent Raymond A. Gonzalez told Pascack Press.
Currently, eighth grade is held at the crowded Westwood Regional Jr./Sr. High School, at 701 Ridgewood Road.
If the measure succeeds at the polls, work will begin in earnest to redevelop Westwood Regional Middle School—the former Ketler Elementary School—at 23 Third Ave. in Westwood.
The proposal more than doubles the size of the middle school by adding more than 50,000 square feet to the building for student support services, music and band rooms, new art and science classrooms, a larger gymnasium, and a media center.
Some who’ve heard presentations on the question ask why the district is undertaking this project when elementary school class sizes are problematic and how a year or so of construction will affect students.
Officials say they are addressing the elementary school question by optimizing space elsewhere and that construction inconveniences to students and staff will be kept to a minimum.
Speaking to financing, Gonzalez suggested the district was delivering a good deal for voters.
The actual amount being asked as new, 20-year debt is approximately $8 million, after millions in capital reserves and state aid are applied.
“We’ve been saving. I think that’s a positive for this school board, this administration, and should be seen as such for the community that we’ve been saving the taxpayers from having to see a $24 million bond by implementing […] efficiencies over the past several years,” Gonzalez said.
As the proposal explains, the state has determined that the final eligible costs of the project are $10,892,885 and has agreed to provide annual debt service aid to the district in the amount of 40 percent of the annual bond debt service allocable to such final eligible costs.
As a result, the proposal explains, the net annual state debt service aid, measured as a percentage of total bond annual debt service, is 18.237 percent.
This aid reduces the school district’s share of the total project to 81.763 percent of the original cost, according to the district.
But how will it affect you? According to district figures following a state formula, in the Borough of Westwood the estimated annual tax impact per $100,000 in assessed home value would be $14.02, or $1.17 per month.
In the Township of Washington, it’s slightly less, at $13.74 a year, or $1.15 per month.
On an assessed home value of $500,000, the impact in Westwood is $70.10 a year or $5.84 a month; in the Township, it’s $68.70 a year or $5.73 a month.
Meanwhile, school leaders have put everything they have into a communications and marketing push to introduce voters to the proposal and field questions ahead of the referendum.
There is time to review the proposal, which includes floor plans, rationale, and a timeline, available here.
Voter approval is necessary for the commencement of the project and to receive the debt service aid.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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