Cure For Nutley’s Overcrowded Classrooms? $394 A Year, Group Says

NUTLEY, NJ — Schools at overcapacity. Ballooning class sizes. Students crammed into trailers instead of classrooms. Most of these woes facing the Nutley Public School system can be fixed with a $394 yearly increase to the average local homeowner's school taxes, a grassroots group of community activists charge.

As Nutley voters prepare to take a second whack at a multi-million school referendum in the 2018 general election, a group of community members, "Say YES to Nutley," have created a website in favor of the massive construction project.

Split into two ballot questions, the first part would fund a $56.82 million series of improvements at Nutley High School, John H. Walker Middle School, Washington Elementary School and Yantacaw Elementary School.

The second ballot question would fund $10.15 million of improvements at Nutley High, Washington and Yantacaw. Read the full questions here.

The project was originally presented as a single, $70 million package in 2017, which voters rejected 2,380 to 1,879.

• See related article: Nutley Voters Say 'No' To $70M School Bond Issue
• See related article: Nutley Takes Another Crack At School Referendum In 2018 Election

According to Say YES to Nutley, if the referendum is defeated again, it will mean serious consequences for the town’s students:

• “Schools remain at or over capacity”
• “Class sizes continue to rise”
• “Trailers at Washington and Yantacaw remain”
• “Additional trailers at Washington stacked one on top of existing trailers in 2019”
• “Double stacked trailers at Spring Garden in 2019”
• “District faces moderate redistricting initiative to accommodate all elementary students”
• “New registrants may need to continue to attend a school other than their neighborhood school”
• “Academics and programming will suffer”
• “Spaces, not originally intended for instruction, will have to continue to be utilized”

However, a $394 annual investment from the average local taxpayer would enable the district to solve most of the above issues, the group claimed:

“$394 for the average assessed home per year to give us 37 new classrooms, 3 multipurpose rooms (for lunch and gym), adding secure entrances to 2 schools, and eliminate the trailers. This would also place 6th graders in the middle school, which increases educational rigor. The tax impact, on an average assessed home of $318,300, is $331 per year for question #1. Those who vote yes to question #1, have the ability to vote on question #2. The average cost to the homeowner for question #2 is $63.”

If approved, the construction projects would offer a solution for 15 to 20 years, the group stated. If not, here’s what may happen:

“Right now, our class sizes throughout the district have risen above best practices and district guidelines. In grades K to 2, classes are at 21 and 22 students; grades 3 and 4 are at 24 or 25, and grades 5 and 6 are at 30. The trailers at Yantacaw and Washington will remain, with a second story added to one Washington trailer by September 2019. Spring Garden will receive a double-decker trailer for the next school year, beginning in September 2019. New school registrants may need to attend a school other than their home/neighborhood school. This would continue, even with increased class size. Redistricting at the elementary schools will be needed and our academics will suffer at all levels.”

Read the full statement from Say YES to Nutley here.

COMMUNITY MEETINGS

The Nutley Public School District has scheduled two Town Hall meetings to provide the community with information on the Nov. 6 referendum.

• Wednesday, October 17 - 7 p.m. at John H. Walker Middle School Auditorium
• Saturday, November 3 – 10 a.m. to noon at the Nutley Public Library

Don’t forget to visit the Patch Belleville-Nutley Facebook page here. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

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