Woodbridge Residents Will Vote March 14 On School 4 And 5 Renovations

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Here is a summary of the major news that came out of the most recent Woodbridge school board meeting, held last Thursday night, Feb. 16.

You can watch the meeting in its entirety here, but Patch summed up the most important news (a lot of important information was conveyed):

Three schools getting air conditioning: JFK High School, Colonia High School and Iselin middle school will be getting air conditioning. The HVAC systems have to be updated and no date has been given for when the AC will start.

The school district will also do an audit this spring on which remaining classrooms still do not have air conditioning.

"We want to continue to move to 100 percent of classrooms being air conditioned," said Board member Dan Harris. "Over the years, we've gotten closer and closer to 100 percent."

The Woodbridge school district was given $10.5 million under President Joe Biden's American COVID Rescue Plan, and some of that money will be used to install new ventilators at JFK, Colonia HS and Iselin middle school; the ventilators will put fresh air into classrooms.

Big public vote coming up: On March 14, Woodbridge residents will be asked to take a public vote to approve a proposal from the school district to make "significant renovations" at Schools 4 and 5 (Avenel Elementary School) on Avenel Street.

This comes after the major announcement the district made in September that it would not be moving forward on construction of a brand-new Avenel Elementary School — something that Woodbridge voters approved in 2020, and had been planned for more than two years.

Construction already started on a brand-new Avenel Elementary school building on Rahway Avenue, but costs skyrocketed by more than $15 million due to inflation and raw material costs, superintendent Joe Massimino revealed in September.

So, instead of building an entirely new school, what the district decided to do is "significant renovations" of the existing Schools 4 and 5 on Avenel Street.

"We've arranged for this referendum, scheduled for Tuesday, March 14, which will be asking the voters of the Township to approve significant renovations at existing School 4 and 5 — instead of building a new school on Rahway Avenue," said Board member Harris. "No additional money will be needed. The existing funds that would have been used for a new school will be used for renovations at the existing school on Avenel Street."

Massimino said he would like to explore "what the district has to do to keep School 14 open, and what the district has to do to improve it."

"I am talking to our architects. It would come at a significant cost," he warned. There was a plan to close School 14 and moved the students to School 25. "I would like to keep School 14 in our district. At this point, we are exploring every option we can. I'm hoping to have news in the upcoming board meetings. I wish I had an answer today."

That is why March 14 is a half day for Woodbridge elementary and middle schools; all regular polling sites will be open from 2-8 p.m. so the public can vote to approve the School 4 and 5 renovations or not.

The school district never technically took ownership of the six-acre property on Rahway Avenue where the new elementary school would have been located. The land is still owned by Woodbridge Township. The Township has plans for the site, which it has not revealed.

School meals provider Pomptonian says they are seeing "extreme" food cost increases, requests new contract:

In December, the school district's food provider, Pomptonian Food Service Management, informed the district there have been "extreme increases" in food costs due to inflation. Because of that, Pomptonian is requesting they end the fixed-cost contract they currently have with the district. This fixed-cost contract does not allow them to adjust for inflation or unforeseen cost increases, said superintendent Massimino.

Pomptonian would like to switch to a cost-reimbursable model, which would allow them "flexibility" as the cost of food is expected to increase in the next year. However, to switch to a new contract means Pomptonian has to formally end their existing contract with Woodbridge school district and the district has to open a formal request for proposals for all school lunch providers to submit bids.

Proposals are due March 7 and the Woodbridge BOE expects to award a new contract at their next scheduled meeting on March 9.

Massimino stressed at the Feb. 16 meeting how happy he and many parents and staff in the district have been with the school lunches Pomptonian provides, especially after the Fall 2021 debacle where it became statewide news that Woodbridge students were served rotten, moldy or ice-cold frozen food from the old school lunch provider, Chartwells. The district fired Chartwells and hired Pomptonian.

The new contract will have no impact on the quality of meals or the cost students pay for meals.

"We simply have to adjust the kind of contract we have," said Massimino.

Watch the entire Feb. 16 Woodbridge school board meeting:

Prior: Due To Inflation Costs, Woodbridge Not Building New Avenel Elementary (Sept. 2022)

Woodbridge Schools Get New Lunch Provider After Rotten Complaints (Nov. 2021)

Woodbridge Schools Investigate 'Moldy, Rotten' Kids' Lunch Issues (Sept. 2021)