Hrycenko: Now is the time to act on school referendum

Brick Township school officials are preparing for a Sept. 29 referendum to take advantage of state grants and loans before the money runs out on Dec. 31.

Superintendent of Schools Walter J. Hrycenko said the four-question referendum will be held on Sept. 29.

But Hrycenko said Monday that he won't have an actual dollar amount until the total amount the district could receive in state grants and debt service reimbursements is known.

"We are hoping to get almost $58 million from the state, which would be a phenomenal amount," he said.

The district has already received approval for $25 million out of a $200 million pot in state funds, providing the referendum questions pass in September, he said.

"The money disappears on Dec. 31, 2009," Hrycenko said.

The first question involves safety and security improvements to every school in the district.

"This really has to do with the entrances to the schools, making them more secure," he said.

Currently visitors to all schools are buzzed in when they ring a bell at the front entrances.

The improvements call for a set of airlock doors in each school, where visitors enter one door but cannot go through the next door until someone from the main school office lets them in, he said.

The main school offices will be also be more centrally located, which improves security, Hrycenko said.

"When these schools were built, there wasn't the environment we're in today," he said. "Brick Township, as we know, is one of the safest towns in America. All you have to do is have one nut get into the school and it will be a problem."

"It's not necessarily a concern right now in Brick Township," Hrycenko added. "We just want to anticipate."

The second question calls for replacing the lighting in all of the schools and unit heating ventilators in each classroom for more energy efficiency. The question also involves putting solar panels on the Lake Riviera and Veterans Memorial middle schools, he said.

Boilers, heating and air conditioning systems will also be replaced, he said.

The third question deals with a sevenclassroom addition to the Primary Learning Center on Chambers Bridge Road to prepare for a full-day kindergarten, which is needed, Hrycenko said.

It also calls for the construction of an early childhood education center for preschool and handicapped children, to meet a state mandate that state officials postponed this year due to budget constraints, he said.

"It's coming, no doubt about it," Hrycenko said. "If things are going to have to get done anyway, the longer you wait, the more expensive it's going to be."

The fourth questions is the largest project: the renovation of Brick Township High School and additions to the school, which was built in 1958.

"It's the biggest piece of all the questions," Hrycenko said. "So much needs to be done there. Most of the building is the original 1958 building."

"The bathrooms are a mess, the science labs are a mess," he said. "They are not up-todate at all."

Plans call for renovating the bathrooms, and constructing a new gymnasium, cafeteria and a two-story, handicapped-accessible addition with elevators, which will house a new science lab and classrooms.

The high school improvements would make it possible to transfer students in the Pathways program at the Educational EnrichmentCenter to the high school, Hrycenko said.

"These kids need to be with general education students," he said. "Right now they are very isolated, and that's not the best thing for anybody."

Hrycenko hopes to hold a special Board of Education meeting in the middle of July to discuss the referendum.

"We have to give the county 60 days to print the ballots," he said. "These things have to get done. We know the economy isn't the greatest."