After 20 years, Wayne taxpayers nearly done bearing cost of third middle school
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WAYNE — Taxpayers will soon dig out completely from the long-term debt they incurred for construction of Anthony Wayne Middle School, a project that was viewed as necessary to handle rising enrollment.
The final payment of debt service — roughly $2.7 million — is in the K-12 district’s $187.8 million budget for next school year, which the Board of Education approved on May 4.
Two decades after voters approved a $60 million bond issue to cover the middle school project, the district is facing similar circumstances.
Schools Superintendent Mark Toback said at the most recent meeting of the Board of Education that officials were relieved the debt burden was about to end because they will likely have to ask voters to support another multimillion-dollar referendum in the near future.
Details for that plan are not fleshed out, but Toback noted the “unique moment in time” where the district can pursue new projects without worrying about an additional tax impact.
In January 2003, voters approved a 20-year bond to finance the construction of Anthony Wayne on Garside Avenue, plus improvements to George Washington and Schuyler-Colfax middle schools and to Wayne Hills and Wayne Valley high schools.
Overcrowding was such a problem at the middle schools that some classes were taught in trailers. “Kids can’t carry their backpacks in the hallway,” one voter told The Record on the day that the referendum passed.
Story continues below newspaper clip.
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-record/126121918/
Article from Sep 1, 2005 The Record (Hackensack, New Jersey)
Anthony Wayne Middle School, which opened in September 2005, has the same namesake as the township: the Revolutionary War soldier and statesman.
The original Anthony Wayne Middle School on Valley Road is now Sienna Village of Wayne, an apartment complex for senior citizens that is operated by Christian Health, a Wyckoff-based nonprofit.
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The district shut down the junior high school in June 1982, amid talks of further school closings, after its enrollment dwindled to fewer than 600 students.
Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: devencentis@northjersey.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Wayne NJ taxpayers nearly done paying for third middle school
