Schools

Jefferson Security, FDK Lead Public Discussion at Five Year Facilities Town Hall

On April 18, the Summit Board of Education held a town hall forum to discuss the five year facilities plan.

 

Issues of Security at Jefferson School and full day kindergarten lead the discussions at Thursday evening’s town hall forum on the Board of Education’s Five Year Facilities plan.

Before the public was given opportunity to approach the mic, Superintendent Nathan Parker outlined his prioritization of the projects included in the Five Year Facilities Plan.

His main prioritization, which many members of the public echoed, is the issues of security at some of the elementary schools. Secondly, he is focused on addressing program limitations, such as science labs in the middle school. Parker’s other prioritizations include, space constraints, renovations and an upgrade to a 57-year-old boiler at the high school.

The first resident to speak at the meeting was Tracy Luckner who read a letter from the Jefferson School PTO.

She thanked the board and expressed that she fully supported their plans at Jefferson which address the following concerns:

  • The dangerous steep slope
  • Electrical system right next to the playground
  • A sink hole
  • The intercom system
  • Unsecure office
  • No girls restroom on the first floor
  • An undersized cafeteria

“We are deeply concerned about safety overall,” she stated. “The money to be spent is well worth it.”

Jefferson parent Angela Gannon was also in support for the changes at Jefferson, expressing that they are not asking for a lot, just the blatant security issues to be addressed.

Gannon started to choke up as she recalled the events at Sandy Hook in December and said there is no fool proof way to avoid these horrific events at all costs, but at the bare minimum the board needs to address the security concern.

Several other Jefferson parents thanked the board for finally addressing the security and safety issues at the elementary school, some of them recalling their own experiences or the experiences of their children falling on the steep hill or being too close to the electrical facility.

Councilman Tom Getzendanner was the first member of the public to bring up the issue of full day kindergarten. He expressed that if Summit was going to offer such a program, it should come at a cost. If implemented, he said it should be “full priced, rather than free.”

Resident Norbert Weldon felt very strongly about the idea of implementing full day kindergarten, which he expressed is not necessary and there has been no movement in the senate for it to be mandatory.

He added that he was very happy to see the addition of science labs in the middle school, because that is something important to the children.

“I think we can teach our children to count to 20,” he said. “I don’t think any of us are going to teach our kids chemistry.”

Board of Education Operations Committee Chairman Edgar Mokuvos explained to the public that the district is unable to meet the common core standards for kindergarten in a half day and that is what brought him to be in favor of the program.

Find out what's happening in Summitwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Kevin Fagan approached the mic with kind words of Summit educators, who he feels have done an exceptional job with his children, but one thing he believes is not a priority for Summit is Full Day Kindergarten.

Although he clarified he was not calling anyone a child, Fagan said he often tells his children that an Xbox is nice to have, but they do not need to have it.

“FDK is nice to have, but we don’t need it,” he said.

He also suggested that with the many religious and secular institutions already providing full day kindergarten in Summit, the board should approach these institutions to have them follow the common core.

“Talk to these programs and tell them that they need to meet these standards,” he explained. “And that is almost free.”

Another resident, Kristin Luoma got the bottom of things and asked the board what the yearly operating costs for running full day kindergarten would be.

Chief Financial Officer for the district Louis Pepe said that a director of human resources at one of the primary centers crunched the numbers and it was about $1 million dollars or $70 on the average Summit homeowner,

However, he added that the number fluctuates depending on other variables that can change year to year.

Several other residents expressed the same concerns that the standard of education at the middle school and high school levels should be addressed before worrying about full day kindergarten.

Parker told the public that he believes all students can benefit from full day kindergarten and it can increase achievement in the district.

“ The earlier you invest in a child’s education the higher the payoff,” he expressed.

Janet Maulback addressed that she was in favor of full day kindergarten and that it would provide the best start to an education for all Summit children.

“We are a town that is proud of our educational system,” she said. “It is time to put our money where our mouth is.”

As part of the full day kindergarten debate, a few parents commented on the school report card, the college acceptances and SAT scores of the current senior class.

Danielle Maloney passionately told the crowd that not being accepted into an Ivy League institution is, “not the end all be all of our children.”

Parker added that several juniors were recognized as merit scholars this year, the most Summit High School has ever seen.

“Everything is not a disaster,” he said. “FDK would not take away from any of our resources.”

Parker added that not all students heard back from colleges, one parent he spoke to said his son was waitlisted at five Ivy League universities. He also said that they are constantly addressing their curriculum and hoping that people in Summit would hire students for internships.

The Board of School estimates will vote on the Five Year Facilities plan on May 9.
The board has the opportunity to accept the plan in full or portions of it, or also make suggestions/changes.

An explanation of the plan from when it was introduced can be found below:

Over the next five years, the projects to multiple educational facilities would be funded by a bond issuance for larger items and the Fund 12 capital outlay and Capital reserve the board already has access too

The overall amount that would need to be bonded would be $22,600,000.

Mokuvos presented that based on a 20-year bond at 3.31 percent this would mean an increase of $206.89 per year for the average Summit taxpayer. He added if state aid was brought back the number could go down to $124.14.



An additional 6 million would come out of the district’s “Fund 12” for smaller projects and this amount would not impact taxes because the money has already been budgeted for, Mokuvos stated at a previous Board of School Estimates meeting.

The projects include:

Find out what's happening in Summitwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • 925,000 – Summit High School Boiler Replacements 
  • 2,300,000 LCJ Summit Middle School Auditorium Upgrades 
  • 3,325,000 – LCJ Summit Middle School Science Lab Remodeling
  • 1,150,000 - LCJ Summit Middle School Brick Repointing
  • 4,600,000 – Franklin Addition
  • 5,250,000 – Jefferson Security/Site Work
  • 2,450,000 – Jefferson Full Day Kindergarten Expansion
  • 2,600,000 – Wilson Full Day Kindergarten Expansion 


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