MANASQUAN — Manasquan voters in a Jan. 24 referendum will be asked approve funding for “critical improvements” to school district facilities, including Manasquan Elementary School [MES] and Manasquan High School [MHS].
According to statement issued by the Manasquan Board of Education president Alexis Pollack, the projects proposed in the referendum will not cause an increase in taxes.
“Ninety-eight percent of the projects qualify for New Jersey debt service aid totaling approximately $7.4 million,” the statement said, “and the repayment of the bond will take place over a 26-year period.”
The project is described by the BOE as “the result of a years-long process including the development of a long-range facilities plan, identifying and prioritizing needs, and planning a timeline that would result in funding that would not increase the taxes of the Manasquan residents.”
Elementary School improvements
About 80 percent of the work would focus on MES, with upgrades to the indoor infrastructure as well as the outdoor. According to the BOE’s website, the referendum calls for 15 classrooms to be renovated with new ceilings, paint, floors, casework and furniture in the pre-kindergarten through 4th grade wing. Two pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms will receive extra toilets.
The art room will be renovated with a collapsible separator and doors. The science lab will receive new furniture and “lab accessories.” The gymnasium will be redone with new wooden floors and improved locker rooms. The music suite will receive an installation of windows behind the stage.
The infrastructure of the building will undergo improvements such as an HVAC replacement. Security measures will be taken with a new card reader installation in the pre-kindergarten wing of the building. The referendum also includes various technological upgrades.
The outdoor renovations will include a replacement of the primary playground with “inclusive play elements and rubberized surface.” The blacktop located next to the baseball field will be replaced with new asphalt. The renovations will also include replacing the “… walls adjacent to macadam with waterproof sheeting, flood vents and new doors to storage area,” according to the website.
High School Improvements
While MES will undergo the bulk of the improvements, the referendum also covers upgrades to MHS. The high school will renovate the band rooms with new lighting, floors and furniture. The boys and girls locker rooms will be renovated for the first time since 1961, when construction first took place. According to the BOE’s website, the referendum proposes new floors, painted walls, office ceilings and lockers.
The infrastructure of the high school will include “partial replacement of 1930s-era slate roof, brick repointing and control joints, brick repointing and control joints, [and] technology upgrades,” according to the website.
The outdoor improvements will be made to the BOE parking lot, which includes a better drainage system to “relieve flooding.” The track and field will receive new pole vault and high jump facilities, shot put toe boards and concrete pads. The grounds garage located next to the turf field will receive a new roof, heating system, doors and electrical services.
For more on this story, read the next edition of The Coast Star—on newsstands Thursday or online in our e-Edition.
Subscribe today! If you're not already an annual subscriber to The Coast Star, get your subscription today! For just $34 per year, you will receive local mail delivery weekly, with pages and pages of local news and online access to our e-edition on Starnewsgroup.com.
