School board, opponents, battle over bond referendum

SUSSEX/WANTAGE-On next Tuesday, March 8, residents of Sussex and Wantage will be asked to vote on a school bond referendum, carefully devised and promoted by their local school board. Some residents, who have formed an association to fight the $20-million spending plan, think it's been too carefully devised. Michael A. Garrett, head of the Sussex-Wantage Taxpayers' Association, said his group feels that, while some repairs are needed to the district's three schools, a proposed expansion of the middle school is unnecessary. Garrett also believes that the board misspent funds in the past that could have been used to pay for projects on the bond. The bond issue would build a new gymnasium and expand the cafeteria and auditorium to accommodate the 600 students enrolled in the middle school, which was designed for 425 students. Plans also call for four new classrooms and two more classrooms to be created from the old media center. In addition to expanding the middle school, all three schools in the district will get new roofs. New boilers, windows and electrical work is also included in the project. If the bond passes, the district can get $7 million towards the project from the state, with the remaining $13 million to be paid by local taxpayers. The district estimates that it will cost the average homeowner $151 in Sussex and $183 in Wantage. District Superintendent George R. Papp calls the bond "vital." But Garrett, who owns Shale Hills Farm on Pond School Road and has lived in Wantage his entire life, said the district should never have gotten to the point where the roofs on all the buildings need to be replaced at once. "We find it hard to believe that suddenly all three roofs are in an emergency situation and can't be repaired over a number of years," Garrett said. "The boilers we ha ve an issue with, too. They are inspected by the state every year and are found to be perfectly satisfactory. There's no need to replace them at this point." Papp has said that new boilers along with new windows will cut the cost of heating the buildings. Garrett said, "We disagree wholeheartedly that additional classrooms are needed in the middle school." Citing figures from the board of education, Garrett said that the current fifth-grade class is the largest in the district. The school population declines in lower classes, he said, and is not expected to grow. "Once the additions are done," he said, "the fifth grade will be out of the middle school and there will be no need for more classrooms." Papp has said that the state does not allow local districts to look more than five years down the road in making long-range plans, and current plans show that the extra classrooms are needed. Garrett said his group, which formed specifically to fight the bond referendum, has "about ten very active members who have been meeting several times a week for almost a month. There are many other people involved in distributing letters and putting up signs." He said he also feels that teachers are paid too much and should have to contribute to their health benefits. Garrett also said Tuesday that one of his association's members was threatened with arrest for passing out anti-bond literature outside a public hearing on the referendum. With board offices closed because of the snow, Papp could not be reached for comment. The superintendent and the boards of education of both Wantage and Sussex have spent two years planning for the referendum and considered a number of ways to address the district's needs. One called for condemning the district's two elementary schools and replacing them with a new, $60-million facility. The current plan was the result of a number of meetings with the public and is specifically geared toward taking advantage of the $7 million in state aid. The funding for such projects will run out after this year and, Papp says, if the district doesn't take advantage of it now, the money won't be available in the future. The Sussex-Wantage Regional School district consists of the C.E. Lawrence School, Sussex Middle School and the Wantage School attended by a total of approximately 1750 students. The cost on the referendum is fixed and any reassessments made by the town do not affect the taxpayer. There are exceptions if a resident's area is reassessed at a much higher rate than others. Papp also mentioned a tax-freeze for seniors that may be available through the town. He said that the current administration has tried to determine how the buildings were allowed to fall into disrepair so that it won't happen again in the future. If passed, the project will not begin for about a year. Architects will be hired to handle the bidding process on the various projects. Once the board chooses the final bids, construction may begin soon after, with another year needed for construction. If the referendum does not pass, the community and the board lose the present opportunity of state funding $7 million. Garrett, for one, feels the issue will fail. "People," he said, "are just being taxed to death in this township."