Howell To Buy Church For $3.6M New Preschool Expansion Model Approved

By Alyssa Riccardi

HOWELL – Officials of the Howell Township School District have voted to approve a new school model for preschool full universe expansion, which is set to be implemented for the 2024-25 school year.

said. “We’re adding 12 preschool classrooms in our five existing preschool buildings. Everything in the presentation begins 2024.”

Howell

3071 Lakewood Allenwood Road.

By Stephanie Faughnan

HOWELL - In a unanimous decision, the Township’s governing body passed an ordinance setting aside money to purchase the Cornerstone Church property located at 3071 Lakewood Allenwood Road.

The ordinance appropriates $3.6 million for the issuance of $3,420,000 in bonds and notes.

Cornerstone Church has a second location at 6550 Route 9 South within the municipality.

During the public hearing on the ordinance, local homeowner Lawrence White questioned the expense of the proposed acquisition.

“I read that the assessed value of the property is $1.46 million less than the purchase price,” said White. “It seems like an extrava- gance to be spending that much more money than the assessed value of the property.”

According to Township Manager Joe Clark, the municipality has not entered into a formal contract of sale with the property owners. A separate ordinance approved by the council authorizes acquisition by negotiation or eminent domain for the

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At the July 10 Community Interaction Committee meeting, a presentation was held by the Early Childhood Advisory Council to show potential concepts and details of two different plans to residents.

“This is an exciting time, but that excitement brings complexity. Being able to offer free, high-quality preschool for our community we believe is an essential part of the work we do as a school district and as a Board of Education,” Superintendent Joseph Isola said.

“We’re still early in the stages. There will be no changes for September 2023 – status quo,” he

In 2022, Governor Phil Murphy and the New Jersey Department of Education (DOE) announced $26 million in funding to districts, which was apportioned in the FY2023 budget. With these grants, nearly 2,150 additional three- and four-year-old children will have access to a preschool classroom across the state. This would increase New Jersey’s preschool seats to nearly 70,000.

Howell was one of 27 districts across the state to receive funding to aid their preschool program in the 2022-2023 school year. They received an amount of $2,286,405 from the state grant.

At the time, Isola said the money will be used for a five-year plan to serve preschoolers in

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Recruits Graduate From Sheriff Youth Week

By Alyssa Riccardi MONMOUTH COUNTY

– Sheriff Shaun Golden handed certificates to 47 participants who completed the 30th annual Sheriff Youth Week Program.

The highly recognized program is not your ordinary summer camp. It provides high schoolers with a unique opportunity to explore interests in law enforcement through police academy-style training, exercise activities and instructional sessions.

This year, recruits also had the opportunity to explore a NJ State Police helicopter and learned how it’s used.

The five-day camp began with the sheriff telling recruits to bring energy, enthusiasm and excite - ment with them each day.

“We are so proud of the entire Sheriff Youth Week class for staying the course and commend all for completing this intensive week of law enforcement training. At the beginning of the week, I tell the recruits that they if they are engaged and excited about this program, it will be an experience of a lifetime,” Golden said. “Sheriff Youth Week provides our youth to explore the realm of possibilities of a career in public safety. As a result, many will become future leaders in law enforcement.”

Recruits would begin each day with drills and end them with exercise. Throughout the week, they

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Continued From Page 1 property to be used for municipal purposes.

“In terms of the assessed value being less than the purchase price, the assessed value is a different metric,” Clark explained. “We have an appraisal supporting the price of $3.5 million, and it’s done on a highest and best use analysis, whereas the assessed value takes into account its current use.”

Authorities are currently strategizing their approach to the property, with a primary focus on preserving it as open space and potentially securing Green Acres funding for that purpose. Monmouth County may also have grant money available that would help defray the cost of the bonds.

State rules for Green Acres funding come with strict guidelines and would include preservation of 13 acres of the property. The Green Acres designation acts as substantial protection as far as concerns about future sales. County grant money would require the municipality to keep the land as open space for an indefinite time period.

“I can’t think of a situation where we would sell the property,” said Clark. “Typically, when we purchase property, it’s with the idea of holding it forever.”

The Shade Tree Commission is also expected to play a role in enhancing the initiative, contributing their expertise in planting endeavors, similar to their involvement in other parts of the municipality.

In addition to keeping the property as open space, there may be an opportunity to consider some type of recreational activity on the site. No specific plans have been put in place during the preliminary stages of the acquisition.

White said he still found the acquisition to be a big investment for officials to make without stated plans or a speculated purpose.

According to Clark, acquiring land parcels of this size to safeguard open space is a rare opportunity for the township. A resident who spoke during the public commentary portion of the meeting agreed.

“We hear all the time that people want to stop the development,” Joe DiBella said. “If you want to stop development, at the right time in the right instances, in the right application, you buy open space.”

The property transfer process will span over some time, commencing with the contract of sale and applications for county and state funds.

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Howell. Its first year began in fall 2022.

Dorothea Fernandez, Director of Pupil Services, discussed how the district was able to accommodate year one and two which had 165 and 321 students, respectively. However, the district expects there to be around 900 students by year 5.

“We have been able to successfully place in our existing structure additional students. What we do know operationally, we cannot sustain in the current structure that we have,” Fernandez said.

“The sooner we get students in front of us, the more successful this will be for everyone,” she added.

The district stated that they hope by September of 2024 to expand to full universes. This means any family that has a 3- or 4-year-old that is eligible to attend preschool will be able to come to the district for the full day program at no cost.

The ECAC committee reviewed different scenarios and evaluated their educational and operational factors.

“There was a strong need that pushed us to having early childhood learning centers. Some of the momentum from the conversations kept pushing us to this determination. Some were that in early childhood learning centers we can ensure developmentally appropriate practices that are geared towards our youngest learners,” preschool teacher Danielle Moore said. “Also, (there would be) increased opportunities for inclusion of children with Individualized Education Plans going into the general classroom. They would also be a greater access to specialist and consultants.”

After reviewing each scenario, the committee believed models 2-4-2 and 2-8-2 would be possible to achieve knowing (Preschool - See Page 3)

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Continued From Page 1 learned about various law enforcement topics and agencies as well as an overview of the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement, Communications and Corrections Divisions and the Office of Emergency Management.

A major part of this year’s program involved recruits spending time with the Monmouth County Fire Academy, where they got to learn what it takes to become a firefighter. This included a tour of the smoke house, learning how to handle a hose and climbing the ladder.

Another day was spent at the Situa -

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Continued From Page 2 the district would need potentially 60 classrooms for the full universe. tional Training and Response Simulator, STARS facility where recruits learned about the VirTra Simulator, a decision making and tactical firearms virtual threat simulator which is equipped with five large screens and shows real life scenarios.

The 2-4-2 Model would offer two buildings of early learning centers. There would be four sister-pair schools for grades K-5, and then two middle schools. The 2-8-2 Model would offer two early learning centers, eight K-5 schools, and two middle schools. Both models would have a total of about 400 students per grouped grade section.

Isola added that these models were chosen as potential concepts after reviewing school boundary lines and how populated Howell is in each section.

In addition, recruits watched several demonstrations such as K9s, Project Lifesaver, vehicle simulators, drones, dive team and motor vehicle stops, as well as a display of special operations and equipment.

They also watched presentations on drug awareness, and entire regimen of health and fitness including a 5-K run.

“This experience as a sheriff youth week

During the presentation, the benefits and challenges of each model were listed along with a response. For the 2-4-2 Model, some benefits are: more teachers on the same grade level within each building, staffing for before/ aftercare, targeted attention to unique needs of each grade band, and better able to address developmental needs of students in the grade band. Some challenges are potential for siblings to be in four different schools/times, decrease in parent involvement, and inability for each grade level to have common planning periods.

Benefits of the 2-8-2 Model included longevity of student/teacher relationships, deeper understanding of educa - recruit has been great. I’ve learned so much through the presentations, physical fitness and the interactive displays.

Sheriff Youth Week was very inspiring and a career in law enforcement sounds great,” said Jaxson Adkins, Manalapan.

“It’s been challenging but a lot of fun and you have to be motivated. The program has made me respect those who work in law enforcement because you learn what goes in to protecting the public,” said Jacenia Furman, Neptune.

“This is my second year participating in Sheriff Youth Week and there is nothing like it. I hope to attend West Point and possibly pursue a career in law enforcement after that. I think programs like tional continuum, full time guidance/ special area teachers/less itinerants, and fewer sections at each grade level leads to greater collaboration. Challenges consist of fewer general education classes for inclusion of special programs, change back to k-5 creates transition to all 10 k-5, overcrowding/sustainability, and adequate staffing for itinerants.

“The social, emotional, and the well-being and mental health of all of the students was really at the forefront of those discussions,” said Lee Dugar, School Social Worker, CPIS/ECAC Chair.

Other topics discussed possible transportation tiers, an overview of the sixhour day, and the benefits of preschool and the economic benefit to the com - this open your eyes to all aspects of law enforcement since it’s a great opportunity to learn and helps pave the way toward the future,” said Jake Dembowski, Middletown. munity.

“The instructors do a great job, they challenge you and I’ve learned so much about all aspects of law enforcement. I also made new friends and it’s been a great experience,” Matteo Thompson, Tinton Falls.

The late Hon. Deputy Sheriff William Wingard and his wife, Marie, of New Jersey Gravel & Sand in Wall Township were recognized during this year’s graduation. Since 1992, the Wingard family has been the sponsors of Sheriff Youth Week.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, one person asked how S-2 cuts would affect preschool and the grant received. S-2 is the name of a bill that reduced state funding for many schools over a seven-year period. Isola said although they are losing state funding due to S-2, the preschool grant is outside of the state aid. He added that the grant is additional funding and that preschools should continue to be funded 100% even after the final year of S-2.

At the July 19 Board of Education meeting, a motion was made by member Ira Thor and seconded by member MaryRose Malley to adopt the 2-8-2 Preschool Model of the 2024-25 school year.