See What's Under Consideration For Point Pleasant Beach Schools' $23.9M Referendum

POINT PLEASANT BEACH, NJ — Security upgrades, building repairs and new athletic facilities are among the items proposed for a potential $23.9 million referendum for the Point Pleasant Beach school district.

The borough Board of Education approved submitting five applications for the projects to the state Department of Education during Tuesday's school board meeting, where the list of proposals were presented to the board and the public.

The list of items was the result of months of discussions with district staff and others in the community, and designed to meet needs not only for the schools but the community as well, Superintendent William Smith and business administrator Brian Savage said.

Submitting the project proposals to the state is the first step, said Steven Siegel of Spiezle Architectural Group. The proposals must be reviewed and approved by the education department, a process that generally takes 90 days but can take as much as 120 days, he said.

The state's review also will include information on which parts of the proposal will be eligible for funding of up to 40 percent from the state, Siegel said.

After the state completes its review, the school board will have to decide how it's moving forward. If the board decides to pursue all or part of the project, that will be voted on in December.

The potential tax impact will be able to be determined once the state has completed its review.

The projects that are under consideration for a bond referendum are as follows:

At Antrim:

• Repairs to the building envelope at Antrim, including cleaning masonry, repairing brick, replacing and repairing stairs and lintels (lintels are the horizontal support across the top of a door or window).
• Security access controls at all exterior doors
• A new fire alarm system (upgraded to current technology that tells people to leave the building)
• New corridor flooring that reflects the schools' colors
• New LED lighting (for energy efficiency)
• Hall locker upgrades with new paint and new locks as needed
• Updating the stage lighting in the auditorium
• Renovating the existing locker rooms.

The locker rooms at Antrim have showers that have not been used in years, and instead are being used for storage. There are leaks in the ceiling in the showers that have to be repaired, and those spaces would be turned into useful spaces. The sinks in the locker rooms also are more than 20 years old, Siegel said.

At the high school:

• New high efficiency boilers would be installed for heating
• Hallways would get new flooring that shows the school's colors
• New LED lighting would be installed, which will save on energy costs
• Hall lockers would be upgraded with new paint and new locks as needed
• A classroom that serves the food, fashion and child care courses would be updated with new equipment and new items that are in step with the current times. The classroom hasn't been updated in about 20 years.

The proposed projects also include changes and updates to the athletic facilities.

The tennis courts at the high school would be removed and replaced with an outdoor space that Smith and Savage said would serve multiple uses. It would include an outdoor classroom area and could include items such as a space for yoga classes. It would have tables for students to eat and relax outdoors during their lunch period, and area where phys ed classes could be held for things like badminton or ultimate Frisbee.

Smith said it would have a park feel, similar to spaces at college, and would give students who are headed to college a feel for that environment.

The biggest reason for the removal of the tennis courts — new ones would be built at Antrim — is because the tennis courts at the high school are unstable and badly deteriorating, Savage said.

The athletic complex at Antrim would include the following:

• The tennis courts would be moved there, and would be available for use for pickleball as well as tennis.
• The football field would become a turf field. Smith said coaches told administrators that they wanted turf fields because their teams were at a disadvantage because they play and practice on grass at home, and particularly for soccer, turf changes the speed of the game and how the ball bounces.
• The track surface would be replaced.
• The bleachers would be replaced, and mobile bleachers would be purchased for other sporting events.
• A new concession seating area would be created
• An inclusive playground would be built to accommodate special needs students as well as general education students
• A basketball court would be built
• And there would be a maintenance building.

Also under consideration is a field house and collaborative educational center.

Inside the field house would be:

• A basketball court
• A turf field (half size) for football, soccer, softball
• A multipurpose area for strength and conditioning, wrestling
• New team rooms
• Teacher and staff wellness areas
• A multipurpose meeting room to be used for occupational and physical therapy and music, which does not have a dedicated room. The room would be used for professional development sessions and the Board of Education, including meetings. The multipurpose room also would be able to be used by the community.
• And offices for the administration and child study team.

Smith said the district has been asked to allow sports of all kinds to use its facilities but has had to decline many requests because of a lack of space or because the fields could not sustain the abuse.

The referendum timeline

A resident questioned why the vote has been scheduled for Dec. 12 instead of Election Day, Nov. 7, saying residents who head south for the winter will likely be gone by that date.

Siegel and Savage said the issue is statutory deadlines, particularly one that requires the language for a referendum to be submitted not later than 60 days before the election.

The deadline to submit the projects to the state Department of Education is May 1, and Siegel and Savage said it generally takes 90 days for the state to review the projects and answer the districts. It can take up to 120 days, Siegel said, and he said there are a lot of districts submitting projects for review, which will slow the process.

Once the state replies to the district, the board will have to determine whether it will move forward with all of the projects or not, and the bond referendum question will have to be written and reviewed before it is submitted for inclusion on the ballot.

Because of the process, Savage said it would be highly unlikely that they could have everything completed in time to go on the November ballot.

"Even the December date is cutting it close," Savage said.

Savage said the hope is if voters say yes during the referendum, some of the projects could be done as soon as the summer of 2024.