Is everyone quiet because of the realization that some are posting under multiple names?
Here is a thread of interest:
http://www.bergenrecord.com/page.php?level_3_id=54&page=6256099
Edgewater voters face $5.8M question
Friday, January 10, 2003
By LAURA FASBACH
Staff Writer
EDGEWATER - The state has offered to pay $2.1 million toward a proposed expansion project at the Eleanor Van Gelder School, which has seen a steady increase in enrollment over the past decade.
Now residents will decide in a Jan. 28 referendum whether they want to pay for the remaining $5.8 million to be spent on more classrooms, a new gym, and an upgraded cafeteria at the borough's only school.
Richard Calhoun, the school's business administrator, said a "yes" vote would ultimately cost taxpayers about $93 a year on a home assessed at $200,000, the borough's average.
Calhoun has joined Superintendent Ted Blumstein over the past few months to help build community support for the expansion project.
The aid from the Department of Education amounts to about 26 percent of the project costs, which are estimated at $7.9 million.
The aid was significantly more than school officials had expected, Blumstein said Thursday.
"We're pleased the state came through - and came through higher than we anticipated," he said. Because of budget constraints at the state level, Blumstein said he felt it was important for residents to pass the ballot question this year.
"I feel it's a one-time shot for this now," he said. "If we don't take full advantage of the money, it may not be available a year from now."
The referendum, originally scheduled for Dec. 10, was pushed back six weeks because district officials did not know how much the state would contribute in time to write the ballot question.
The expansion project is the school board's answer to growing enrollment at the K-6 school on Undercliff Avenue. Edgewater students in Grades 7-12 attend Leonia's schools.
For more than 10 years, Edgewater's real estate growth has had a trickle-down effect at the school. According to Census Bureau figures, the borough was Bergen County's fastest-growing community between 1990 and 2000, with its population increasing from 5,001 residents to 7,677.
The elementary school grew from 232 students in 1991 to 365 this year - a 57 percent jump. Demographic studies funded by the district show that in three years, enrollment could increase to more than 420.
Stephen Gross, school board vice president, said voting down the ballot question "is like putting your head in the sand."
The uncertainty of the state's financial picture coupled with low interest-rates makes a "yes" vote the clear choice, Gross said.
David Weinstein, whose daughter is in second grade at the school, said that passing the ballot question is not only important for parents, but for the entire community.
"Schools are important to a community's reputation," said Weinstein, who served on a committee formed by the superintendent to build community support. "I hope the message is getting out there that this is not only important to the children of Edgewater."
The public will have a chance to ask questions and voice opinions about the proposed project at a hearing on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the school's auditorium. Members of the school board, the project's bond attorney, and the project's architect will be on hand to answer questions.
