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Southeastern Burlington County's News Leader
Vol. 1- No. 8
Washington
Woodland
October 22-28, 2016
Voters Hear Pitch for $53.6 Million in Repairs to Pinelands Regional Schools By Adam Tait III For the Pine Barrens Tribune
LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP–What happens if the referendum is defeated? That question was addressed to Stephen J. Brennan, business administrator and board secretary of the Pinelands Regional School District. The reply, accompanied by a frown, “We don’t want to think about that.” The exchange came at the end of a school board meeting last Wednesday night at the junior high school. The referenda, actually three, totaling just over $53.6 million dollars, are what’s needed to fix massive structural damage at Pinelands Regional High School and serious but lesser damage to the junior high school. The amount would be cut by the 40 percent contribution of the state, or $21 million. But that leaves taxpayers in four local communities on the hook for $32.6 million, to be paid over the next 25 years. Compounding the problem is that the repairs, at least the overwhelming majority of them, are absolutely necessary. Total high-school costs are $37 million; junior high school costs are $16.6 million. While some major repairs are needed at the junior high school, built in 1990, it’s the older high school, erected in 1979, that is hazardously decayed. Nine classrooms had to be abandoned in the past year. A stair tower was torn down several months ago. The major repair at the junior high is a new roof. The first, largest question totals just over $46.8 million, with a local, 60 percent bill of $28.1 million for the high school. The next two referenda are relatively modest. The second, almost $4.9 million, is for electrical work and interior repairs at both schools. The state’s share would be $1.9 million. The third, priced at just under $2 million, involves the school’s athletic fields, including a new track and tennis courts, a grasssurfaced football field and a sidewalk leading to them. When asked why money was being sought in this area, the reply was that the track was so unsafe now that lanes have had to be abandoned, the football field was so badly decayed as to be unsafe and the tennis courts were also dangerous. The state’s share of the athletic repairs is only 19 percent. As to the question of what happens if the vote is defeated, Brennan said there are several possibilities. Here are the two most likely. The school board could simply call for another vote on the identical question and hope for a different result. That election would probably be held in January. The cost of a
PHOTO SUBMITTED An engineer has concluded that water has penetrated the building's brick veneer, causing its deterioration.
PHOTO SUBMITTED Ceiling tiles that were removed reveal corrosion. second vote is estimated to be $20,000 to $30,000. If voters reject the bond issue a second time, split sessions or renting trailers for classrooms may occur. But if the defeat is relatively close, some smaller items might be cut or trimmed, in an effort to convert wavering voters in a third election. Further complicating the issue is that if the first referendum goes down to defeat, the other two votes also lose, even if they are approved. While space limitations bar itemizing all
PHOTO SUBMITTED A close-up of the damage behind the removed brick.
the repairs needed, here is a list of the major items and their estimated costs on the first referenda. At the high school, the biggest item is $25 million for exterior repairs. Both the brick exterior and steel building frame are badly decayed due to interior water seepage. It was water damage that caused the classroom abandonment and stair tower demolition. Masonry repairs for the entire building are $15 million. Replacing a singlemembrane roof, with a three-ply model will
cost almost $3.6 million. Exterior windows and frames will add $1.25 million. These costs are associated with the junior high school. The largest is $4.25 million to replace a roof similar to the high school’s. Almost $1.2 million is needed for parking improvements, including road reconstruction, drainage, a ramp and exterior steps. The junior school also needs almost $2.6 million for heating and air conditioning repairs in the gym, cafeteria, library and main
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