The Livingston Board of Education and Township Council held a joint “Five on Five” meeting on Wednesday, March 27, at Mt. Pleasant Middle School. Among the topics discussed were the safety of sidewalks and crosswalks near Harrison School, use of the building on Monmouth Court, population models, and more.
Parking, Sidewalks, and Crosswalks
One of the meeting’s main points of discussion involved the safety surrounding Harrison School during drop-off and dismissal.
Beginning this past September, Harrison School implemented a new pick-up policy. Instead of students waiting in the parking lot for their rides to pick them up, parents now must meet their child at the door. This is how Livingston’s other elementary schools have operated, but the narrow roads and limited parking surrounding Harrison has raised concerns.
Council member Michael Vieira expressed concerns about the children’s safety when walking through the congested streets. He requested a return to the dismissal policy of previous years, where children would wait in the parking lot for their parent’s vehicle to arrive.
Superintendent of schools Matthew Block did not echo Vieira’s sentiments. Block noted that he has observedthe previous dismissal plan, as well as the one Harrison School currently has in place, and believes the new system is much safer. Block recalled seeing “near misses” in the parking lot when students would dart across the lot to their respective vehicles.
“While that street isn’t perfect, the way we’re doing it this year is significantly safer than how we were doing it last year,” Block said.
The lack of crossing guards stationed at Longacre Drive was also a point of concern for many residents in attendance.
Deputy Mayor Ed Meinhardt suggested potentially putting together a small committee to try to resolve these issues.
When these potential safety concerns were brought to the Board’s attention, Block made several trips to Harrison School to witness how the dismissal process was going. He noted it seemed increasingly safe when compared to the process of previous years.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, many residents of Longacre Drive, Briarcliff Road, and other streets adjacent to Harrison School voiced their concerns about safety during dismissals.
Sara Klein of 6 Longacre Drive stated the issue there is a “safety crisis.” She handed out packets containing photographs taken throughout the current school year that she said highlighted the unsafe andhazardous conditions students and parents are being asked to walk through.
Similarly, Michelle Thuy of 16 McCall Drive read a letter signed by over 60 concerned parents about the walkway by Harrison School. The letter advocated for long term solutions for sidewalks on both sides of the street, the implementation of one way traffic on Longacre Drive during school drop-off and pick-up, and for a crossing guard or police officer to be stationed near the path on Longacre Drive.
Michelle Lemieux of 14 Byron Place expressed disappointment that Harrison School was the only building mentioned within the conversation about crosswalks and sidewalk safety. She was hoping for a mention of the issues facing Burnet Hill.
“We are talking about three-and-ahalf foot kids falling into potholes,” she said, adding that she has attended many meetings, spoken with various elected officials, and has not seen any action taken.
Long Range Facilities Planning
Block also updated the Board of Education and Township Council about the Board’s Long Range Facilities Planning Committee.
“Really, our top priorities are space and storage,” Block said.
The committee spent its first two meetings focusing on the group’s long-term goals. Once a Long Range Facilities plan is established by the committee, it can take three or four years to implement it. This would put it on a similar timeline to when township housing developments are expected to be completed.
Block stated that the committee expects to have a plan in place by the end of this current school year. The committee has been exploring a variety of different options, including potential additions to some buildings, restructuring facilities, and possibly constructing new buildings.
Additional plans regarding this committee are forthcoming and will be presented at a future Board meeting.
Monmouth Court
The Five on Five meeting also featured an update on a Monmouth Court building that, years ago, served as a primary school. The school was found to be no longer needed in the 1970s, and the building was sold to the township for one dollar. Since then, the facility has served as a recreation center. A few years ago, the Board of Education took over a portion of the building for a special high school program, now known as the Monmouth Court program.
Township manager Barry Lewis took over the discussion regarding the Monmouth Court building. He said that an inquiry was made about retaking the entirety of the Monmouth Court facility. The hurdle he was presented with was that the building was on the township’s Recreation and Open Space Inventory (ROSI), which comes with certain restrictions.
Lewis said that he remains optimistic about the prospects of giving the building back to the school district.
Population Models
Lewis said that the township continues to provide the school district with regular updates about the states of approval of different developments throughout town, permits, and other necessary information. The bedroom breakdown, which directly correlates with potential number of school children, is regularly shared with Block, according to Lewis.
Township officials stated a commitment to meeting its obligation to affordable housing while trying to mitigate the impact on the community and the schools.
Council member Shawn Klein brought up the idea of bringing a demographer or a professional statistician in to be consulted regularly on the matter.
Lewis noted that 25 percent of the affordable housing obligation can be met by 55 and over housing, as well as for housing and supporting those with special needs. These fractions both have significant needs throughout the state and would not have an impact on the school system.
Deputy Mayor Meinhardt pointed out that with every new development, he and the Council members are encouraging developers to speak with local agencies about housing for children with special needs.
Universal Pre-K Block addressed statements and rumors that have been made about a potential universal pre-K mandate coming from the state at some point in the future.
“As we look at facilities, funding, and thinking about the financial impact of any facility’s expansion,” he said, “one thing that has come up in committee meetings is there’s a lot of funding right now that is provided from the state to school districts who offer universal pre-K.”
If the Township Council and Board of Education can create facilities that can house universal pre-K, additional funding can come along with that.
While the town has students accessing different pre-K programs through religious institutions, the YMCA, and other private schools, the programming that Livingston Public School provides is in high demand.
While Block said the district did not have many details yet, further discussions on the topic are planned.
New Legislation
Township attorney Jarrid Kantor told the audience that there will be a fourth round of fair share housing and the towns will be responsible for a significant obligation as a result.
“This isn’t a choice by the governing body,” Kantor said. “It’s a constitutional mandate. It’s an obligation, not a choice.”
Town officials said that they plan to mitigate the impact affordable housing will have upon the district’s public schools.
Shared Services
Lewis stated that the administrations of both the Township Council and the Board of Education are continuing to share services like fields for recreation services. In turn, services are provided from public works. He added that the town’s recycling collector will collect recycling from the school if it is left on the curb.
School Board president Pam Chirls expressed her eagerness for a solution for bus storage issues. The future site of the Department of Public Works’ new building is still slated to begin construction with “shovels in the ground” during this calendar year. It is likely to be a minimal build-out of 18 months from that point. There was discussion about potentially using the future site as a place to house the district’s buses.
“It seems like such an opportunity for this community to finally have a space for the buses,” Block said.
Next Meeting
Following the Five on Five meeting, the Board of Education went into closed session.
A public forum on the school district budget will be held on Tuesday, April 16, from 4 to 6 p.m., prior to the Board’s next regular meeting.
The Council will next meet on Wednesday, April 10.
