Correction: A previous version of this article listed the district referendum total as $36.7 million, which is the amount of state aid. The article has since been updated to correct the referendum amount to $115.4 million.
MANALAPAN-ENGLISHTOWN, NJ — The Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District will relocate administrative offices and start construction on a new addition to their middle school this summer, Superintendent Nicole Santora said in a letter to families.
The announcement comes after the district’s $115.4 million bond referendum passed in November, which called for the construction of an addition to Manalapan-Englishtown Middle School (MEMS) and the relocation of administrative offices on 54 Main Street.
According to district officials, maintaining the current administration building would require “extensive renovations and ongoing repairs, making it neither sustainable nor fiscally responsible.”
The district anticipates breaking ground on the new addition over the summer and plans to move into the new space within the next 18 months.
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Once the relocation is complete, Santora said the district’s intention has been to sell the current property and use proceeds to either supplement the annual operating budget or pay down the long-term bonds.
On Tuesday, May 13, the Englishtown Borough Joint Planning & Zoning Board will hold a public hearing on the 54 Main Street property.
At this meeting, the board will review the findings of its redevelopment study and consider recommending to the Borough Council that the current property be designated as a “Condemnation Area in Need of Redevelopment,” which could allow the borough to try and use eminent domain to acquire the property.
“We are in discussions with borough officials to ensure that, should the borough try to acquire the district’s property, the district would receive fair market value as compensation comparable to what could be expected from selling it through a public auction,” Santora said. “We are also working to ensure that the timeline does not disrupt district operations or result in additional costs to taxpayers, such as the cost to rent a facility and/or relocate multiple times.”
Board of Education members and district officials will be in attendance at Tuesday night’s meeting, Santora said.
The district is encouraging anyone interested to join them, and said the community’s “continued engagement is important as we work through this process together.”
To see the agenda for the Planning & Zoning Board meeting on May 13, you can click here.