Princeton Charter School Expansion Proposed: Report

Princeton, NJ -- The Princeton Charter School is looking to expand.

The expansion includes plans for three more classrooms, a bigger cafeteria, more space for special education and two flex classrooms, Planet Princeton reports. The goal is for the school to expand in grades K-2.

It must apply for the expansion through the New Jersey Department of Education, and Princeton Superintendent of Schools Stephen Cochrane told Planet Princeton the public school district intends to weigh in on the proposal.

He said the public school district would lose $1.4 million in funding if the charter school expands.

He said that if students transferred to the charter school from the public school district, it wouldn’t be enough to reduce grade populations to the point where the district would need to employ fewer teachers and staff members, but it would be enough that the district would have to pay the charter school additional tuition, under state guidelines, according to the report.

It also wouldn’t help with the public school district’s growing population problem, as Cochrane explained the biggest problem is at the high school level.

The district has been dealing with population increases throughout its elementary schools and the middle school due to new residential developments on the former hospital site at Avalon Bay, and Princeton University’s Merwick-Stanworth on Bayard Lane.

District policy calls for no more than 25 students in elementary school classes, and 30 students in classes at schools above that.

One possible solution to the problem is a proposed bond referendum to fund capital improvement projects, which may include the construction of a new school, and the district is considering reopening the former Valley Road School.

Meanwhile, if the Princeton Charter School’s proposed expansion is approved, construction could begin next summer, with additional students being added for the 2017-18 school year, according to the report.

Patch file photo