Superintendent Talks Population Growth At Bond Referendum Forum

MOORESTOWN, NJ — With the township beginning to move forward on several affordable housing complexes, more people will be moving into the township. Many of those people will be families with children, adding to the public school district’s already growing population.

Adequate space for the influx of students is a big part of next week’s bond referendum in which Moorestown voters will be asked to vote on a $26 million proposal to upgrade schools and improve security. It was also a big part of the discussion during a special forum on the proposal at the library Wednesday night.

“We want to get out ahead of things before the development begins,” Superintendent of Schools Scott McCartney told a group of concerned citizens who gathered in the meeting room at the library.

Based on discussions the school district had with the township in the spring, McCartney realistically expects an additional 353 students will be added to the district’s population in the next year or two, he said during the forum.

And while the school district’s overall student population is down over the last 10 years — from 4,372 students in 2008 to 3,976 students in 2018 — the population at each of the four elementary schools is increasing.

The population of special education students has also increased by about 230 students, according to numbers McCartney referenced during Wednesday night’s presentation. An increase in special education students means the district has to modify the ways it uses its space, McCartney said.

When adding these factors to the expected influx of students from the many development projects in the township, the district has come to the conclusion that it needs more space, McCartney said.
The best solution is to build at the William Allen Middle School, where a total of 10 classrooms would be added to the existing structure, McCartney said. That includes eight new classrooms and the modification of two existing spaces to be transformed into classrooms. The modified classrooms are designed to accommodate a few more students than ordinary classrooms, McCartney said.

The new students coming in could be in any grade level, and the proposal would modify how grades are grouped in the schools. All third graders would be moved out of the lower elementary schools into Upper Elementary School, and the sixth graders would move from Upper Elementary School to the middle school.

This would create a system in which grades pre-K through second would attend the three elementary schools; grades 3-5 would attend Upper Elementary School; and a “consistent, true middle school environment” would be created with grades 6-8 at the middle school. There would be no change to grades at the high school.

There also wouldn’t be a noticeable difference in the grades in the elementary and middle school classrooms, either, as they would all continue with the specific curriculum for their grade levels, McCartney said.

During the forum, one parent asked about students coming in from out of the district. There are currently 30 students who live in Moorestown, but attend school in other districts, McCartney said.

There are also 15 students from outside the district who attend Moorestown schools, but that number is not significant enough to have an impact on the district’s spacing issues, McCartney said.

He added that the district receives an extra $15,000 per student that attends the high school, and it would lose that revenue if those students went elsewhere.

“That revenue helps us navigate the budget, which always has a shortfall,” McCartney said.

Out of the proposed $26 million, $1 million is set aside for school security upgrades. For more on the proposal, visit www.mtps.com/referendum and the Moorestown Public School District's Facebook page.

The vote will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., and it is broken up into two questions. The first question incorporates the most urgent and impactful needs of the district, as well as maximizes state aid, according to the district. The cost of this portion of the project is $22.7 million, with the state taking on $7 million of the cost. The tax impact would be $133 per year on the average assessed home worth about $454,032.

The second question includes items that are important but are not as time-critical and are eligible for a limited amount of debt service aid from the state. The cost of this portion of the project is $3.5 million, with the state taking on $143,000 of the cost. The tax impact would be $27.02 per year on the average assessed home worth about $454,032.

Officials are reminding residents that the polling locations for the referendum are different than they are for the primary and general elections. Your voting district and location will be on the sample ballot you receive. If you have any questions, call the Township Clerk at 856 914 3015.

Read more here: When, Where Do I Vote On Moorestown Bond Referendum