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PINE BARRENS TRIBUNE www.pinebarrenstribune.com
Vol. 1 - No. 50
@PineBarrensNews
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The News Leader of the Pines
August 12-18, 2017
Washington Township Acts to Buy Green Bank School NJDEP Involved in Land Acquisition Negotiations with Washington Township
PHOTO BY VINCE DEBLASIO
Green Bank School in Washington Township. By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer
WASHINGTON—One of the most notable pieces of land in secluded Washington Township is up for sale and the Township of Washington has moved to buy it. During a Washington Township Committee meeting held on Aug. 1, following an executive session which lasted for about 15 minutes, an ordinance to acquire the Green Bank School property was unanimously added onto the agenda and introduced for first reading. “Ordinance 2017-06 authorizes acquisition of property at lot 15.01, block 16.01, also known as 2434 Route 563, from the Washington Township Board of Education within the Township of Washington for general municipal purposes,” said Township Clerk Kathleen D. Hoffman. The Washington Township Board of Education voted on April 18, 2016 to make
the Washington Township School District a send-receive, non-operating school district beginning with the 2016-17 school year. The Green Bank School, built in 2006 for $5.4 million, was shuttered last September as a result of the board extending the current send-receive relationship with the Mullica School District. Elementary and middle-school students now attend classes in the Mullica School District in Atlantic County. The closure of the school has been a sensitive topic in the community. The Green Bank School is 25,321 square feet. The building has the capacity for 250 students. It includes a main office, superintendent’s office, business administrator’s office, nurse’s office with a bathroom, and a guidance office. There are also 10 instructional rooms, one pre-school/ kindergarten room with a bathroom, one large instruction room, library, computer room, teacher’s room, full kitchen, and a full-sized
gym/multi-purpose room. Part of the sensitivity stems from when the school board approved construction of the multi-million dollar school without a bond referendum. Instead, the school board used a capital fund supported by state aid money or taxpayer dollars to build the school; despite the fact that it was aware enrollment and state aid to the district was declining. During the 2009-10 school year, 69 students were enrolled in the school. During the 2015-16 school year, 37 students were enrolled in the school. Once the decision to become a non-operating school district was finalized, the school board posted on its website that it was searching for someone to lease or purchase the Green Bank School. The posting was made last summer. However, traditional avenues used to announce the sale or lease of the property were seldom employed by the school board, including
newspaper notices and for-sale signs. The muted nature of the listing raised speculation that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) was interested in acquiring the property. In December of last year, Committeeman Barry Cavileer, who serves as the liaison between the township committee and school board, said at a township committee meeting the NJDEP is interested in purchasing the Green Bank School and district officials were trying to sell the building to the NJDEP. “I understand that they (Washington Township School District officials) have been meeting with the NJDEP,” he said. “Also, that they are bringing in an appraiser to appraise the building as is the NJDEP.” A source with direct knowledge of the negotiations later told this newspaper the NJDEP has looked at the building and it was the
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