Volume LXXII, Number 52
May the New Year Bring You Health and Happiness and Bring Us All One Step Closer to Peace on Earth ———
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Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Clashes Over Referendum, Westminster, and Parking in 2018 National politics continued to make its impact felt in Princeton in 2018, but the big stories this year were mostly homegrown. A school facilities referendum and its tax impact on property owners absorbed the interest of many and threatened to divide the town before it was temporarily resolved in a December 11 vote. The conflict was equally sharp over Rider University’s proposed sale of Westminister Choir College to a Chinese for-profit company, with ongoing argument and legal action on both sides. Also causing concerns that may grow in the coming year were the Princeton Theological Seminary’s expansion plans, as the Seminary proposed to redevelop portions of its campus to provide additional housing. And as the year ended, new meters and a new parking system made Princeton’s perennial parking challenges the focus of some renewed confusion and controversy. School Plans, Resistance, Democracy in Action
Following voters’ December 11
approval of a $26.9 million bond referendum, Princeton Public Schools will be moving forward with construction projects in the new year. They will upgrade safety, security, and HVAC in all six schools; and create four additional classrooms at Princeton High School (PHS) along with a new dining area, increased space for athletics, and an improved counseling area. Getting to this point was not easy, however, and the two-year process saw an original proposal for $137 million, which included expansion of PHS and construction of a new 5/6 school at Valley Road, gradually brought down to the current figure for “immediate and urgent needs.” “It’s going to be a hotly-debated item,” said Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert in July, and as the vote was delayed to December, the controversy went on throughout the year in a manifestation of both democracy in action and a significant division in the Princeton community. In the winter and spring, the news focused on education consultants and elaborate architectural plans for “transformation” and “new learning
paradigms,” but when cost projections and estimated property tax impacts appeared in late March, resistance in the community began to grow. The Board of Education (BOE) hoped to mitigate opposition by proposing a two-part question, offering a scaled-back $82.5M option, but the dissenting voices persevered as the PPS continued to communicate needs to combat overcrowding and bring their aging schools up to 21stcentury standards. Lempert emphasized the conflicting concerns. “I applaud the school district,” she said. “They’ve been out there in the community holding forums. The most important thing about this is that it’s going to be a community vote. There are challenging issues here. To not invest comes with a cost, too. It’s an important process. I’m glad there’s a high level of community involvement.” “No matter how valuable, moral, and just the referendum proposal might be, it’s a gut-wrenching decision on the part of lower- and moderate-income people,” Leighton Newlin said at an August 11 forum on the referendum. Petitions appeared and accumulated
numerous signatures on both sides of the argument, and finally, in early October, the BOE decided on the $26.9 million compromise proposal that was put on the ballot and approved two months later. Board President Patrick Sullivan expressed hopes that the new plan would help to calm the conflict, meet the schools’ most urgent needs, and give PPS and the community time to work towards a consensus. “Many people feel the previous proposals have been too much for one bite,” he acknowledged. Reflecting perhaps the clash of opinions that developed in the referendum discussion, the hotly-contested School Board election in November saw all five candidates for three spots finishing within four percentage points, with two new candidates, Brian McDonald and Daniel Dart, receiving the most votes and incumbent Betsy Baglio finishing third to hold onto her post. With the PPS population still growing and the prospects of another referendum on the horizon, the debates are sure to continue in 2019. Continued on Page 5
Readers’ Choice Awards Winners, and Runners-Up . . . . . .27 A Blast from the Past in this Week’s Book Review . . . . . . . . .16 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtor . . .24, 25 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 23 Classified Ads . . . . . . 43 Clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Dining & Entertainment . . 21 Music/Theater . . . . . . 17 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 41 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 43 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
MARCHING FOR OUR LIVES: More than 4,000 demonstrators overflowed Hinds Plaza on a Saturday in March, demanding action on gun control legislation and expressing solidarity with the national March for Our Lives in Washington, D .C . The Princeton march was initiated by Dziyana Zubialevich, a senior at Princeton High School . (Photo by Erica M. Cardenas)