Wayne voters to decide on $170M bond. Here are the school projects that would cover
WAYNE — Voters in less than two months will decide the fate of a $169.8 million bond proposal to improve facilities at all 15 schools in the K-12 district.
School officials said the “no-frills” projects included in the cost are needed to protect an investment in public buildings that are several decades old.
The 61 projects, they said, will enhance security, save energy and take care of an anticipated rise in enrollment — a situation that the Board of Education has closely monitored for years.
“This isn’t a Cadillac that you’re buying,” said Donald Pavlak Jr., the school board president. “This is a referendum that’s addressing dire needs of our buildings.”
Story continues below photo gallery.
The district would receive $39 million in state aid to spend toward the cost of the projects if the bond proposal is approved.
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The referendum on March 12 will ask whether the average property owner, with a home assessed at $229,473, is willing to pay an estimated $370 annually in school debt taxes for 25 years, the lifetime of the bond.
District administrators walked the public through a slideshow covering many of the projects at a school board meeting Thursday night.
Expand early childhood at Preakness School
Expansion of the early childhood center at Preakness School is the largest project in the bond proposal. It is important, school officials said, because the Hamburg Turnpike building is in the 5th Ward, where multiple housing developments are due to pop up in the coming years.
The new wing would have 24 classrooms, six of which would be dedicated to pre-K. The project would essentially convert the century-old building to the district’s 10th elementary school.
Donna Reichman, the assistant schools superintendent, said enrollment at Preakness School has nearly tripled since the district reopened it in September 2020. “It’s a premier and state-of-the-art preschool,” she said. “The vision that we set is the vision we met.”
But it is crucial to continue that growth, Reichman said, because the public is clamoring for more space.
Under the bond proposal, six buildings — George Washington Middle School, A.P. Terhune School, James Fallon School, Lafayette School, Packanack School and Theunis Dey School — would get two-stage vestibules. The entrances would ensure that visitors are properly screened.
All other buildings in the district have secure entrances.
Anthony Wayne Middle School on Garside Avenue would benefit through a project to fix cracks that were detected in its foundation.
Renovate locker rooms at Wayne Hills and Wayne Valley
Additional work would target renovations to boys and girls locker rooms at Wayne Hills and Wayne Valley high schools. The bond proposal also calls for replacing bleachers at both football fields, a safety issue that has concerned some parents.
Other high school projects include installation of a new elevator at Wayne Valley and modernization of the cafeteria and replacement of an elevator at Wayne Hills.
Some items in the bond proposal, such as plumbing upgrades and roof repairs, are relatively minor in scope, but school officials said they are still as consequential because they would “keep costs in check.”
Ending debt payments for Anthony Wayne construction
School officials have stressed for months that the timing of the bond proposal is advantageous because taxpayers are just now paying off the final installment of debt service for the construction of Anthony Wayne, which voters approved by referendum in January 2003.
That investment, they said, can be supplanted by a new one.
“I think we’d agree that roof work, replacement of windows and doors — it all has to be done at some point anyway,” said Mark Toback, the schools superintendent. “If the referendum passes, it comes with a $39 million discount.”
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
Key dates
Feb. 15: Community forum on bond proposal at 7 p.m. at Wayne Hills, at 272 Berdan Ave.
Feb. 20: Deadline to register to vote.
March 5: Deadline to apply for vote-by-mail ballot, which must be postmarked by day of referendum.
March 12: In-person voting from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Wayne NJ voters to decide bond referendum on improving schools
