Programs, tax relief sought through sharing
Old Bridge officials look at full-day K, day care, field fix-ups
BY BRIAN DONAHUE
Staff Writer

Annette Hopman

A partnership to renovate Lombardi Field, offer commuter parking and provide an early childhood center are all possibilities if school and Old Bridge Township officials join forces.

Those and other issues are now before the Partnering and Shared Services Committee, formed recently by the Board of Education to look into ways of splitting the cost of services with the township and local businesses.

Members are investigating ways to partner in order to bring money into the community to help with the escalating budget costs and bring revenue into the school district.

“We want to defer the burden from the local taxpayers and still provide the level of services to Old Bridge students,” said Superin-tendent of Schools Simon Bosco.

Headed by school board member Annette Hopman, the committee, along with Bosco and Assistant Superintendent Francis Perrino, is working with township officials including Mayor Jim Phillips, former mayor Russell Azzarello, Councilman Reginald Butler and state Assemblywoman Amy Handlin (R-13). Also representing the school’s central administration are Business Administrator Nancy Mongon, Assistant Business Administrator Carylee Johnson, and purchasing agent Carrie Shreder.

Jim Phillips

The Lombardi game plan

The committee is looking to establish a joint venture to rehabilitate and renovate Lombardi Field, which is located at Sandburg Middle School, Route 516, but is the home field of the Old Bridge High School football team. Improvements are sorely needed, Hopman said.

“We’re looking at turf, we’re looking at the bleachers, and an overall renovation of the field,” she said, noting that Phillips attended the committee’s last two meetings to discuss the matter with school officials. While nobody has discussed cost figures or how the joint venture with the township and school district would work, the general concept appears to have support on both sides.

“We spoke about working together as one community to renovate Lombardi Field, which can be used as a community facility,” Hopman said. “When we’re not using it for football or band or other activities, the township can use it for Pop Warner or whatever they choose to use it for.”

A turf field would bring a solution to the problem of wear and tear, Phillips said, noting that only nine football games are played at Lombardi each fall, but they’re enough to destroy the surface by Thanksgiving.

Phillips noted that the township is seeking to expand recreational opportunities for children, but the cost of building a new field, complete with lighting and related improvements, would exceed $1 million. But if an existing field could be renovated and used by various recreational organizations, such as lacrosse and soccer, the township would save money and increase opportunities.

“It’s not so much for the sake of having a turf field, but it’s because here we can do something that is cost-effective,” the mayor said.

Hopman stressed that such issues are still in the discussion stages, and that the full Board of Education was to get its first glimpse of the ideas during Tuesday’s meeting. The board as a whole would have to approve the matter eventually.

“But it’s something I think is long overdue,” she said of Lombardi Field. “If it can be used for all the children in the district, that’s the main purpose.”

Full-day K and day care

Another major topic is the establishment of an early childhood education center that would include full-day kindergarten, a preschool day care program and a preschool disabled program.

Just where the program would be housed remains an unexplored question, however. Options include building a new facility, using space that the district already owns, or leasing an existing building, Hopman said.

The day care program would be open to children of employees in the district as well as the community, and those who use it would pay a fee to the school district.

Hopman said the best part of the day care program is that it would be incorporated with the state’s core curriculum standards.

“The early learning center would be run by the school board. The instructors would be able to implement the core curriculum standards, which are taught in our public school system. This would be a segue to their kindergarten education,” she said.

Hopman noted that Old Bridge is seeing an influx of young teachers at the moment. When many of them go out on maternity leave, the district’s day care program may bring them back sooner.

“They will be able to know where their kids are, what they’re being taught,” she said. “And it gets them back into the classroom, so that’s a win-win for the community.”

Bosco has said on numerous occasions that he is interested in day care for the children of district employees, and he believes a day care center is a great enticement for young teachers to return to work.

Hopman noted that the Toms River school district has a successful day care program, and Old Bridge officials can look at that as a model.

Full-day kindergarten is also being discussed after Board of Education member Ellen McDermott brought the issue back to the forefront. McDermott, a board member since 1971, has been a proponent for years. Budget and space concerns have prevented it from coming to fruition in the past, and Hopman noted that may happen again, but she hopes there is a way to partner with a private entity in running the program.

“This is something that should have taken place a very long time ago,” Hopman said. “With the population we have and the amount of children in kindergarten we have now — more than 540 — I would think the time is now to bring a full-day kindergarten and a day care program to Old Bridge.”

The parking shortage

Commuter parking is in short supply in Old Bridge, and the township is looking to accommodate that demand with more spaces. The school district may be able to help, at least in the short term, but it is not known how or where.

“We have not come to any kind of a conclusion as to what we’ll do, but we did say that if we could help them in the short term, because it is a long-term problem, we’d try to assist them.”

Phillips, noting that he approached the board in this matter, said he sees two school board-owned sites as possibilities for commuter parking — the former Nike Missile Base at Route 9 and Jake Brown Road, and a parking lot of about 100 spaces near Lombardi Field. This lot, which is near a Route 9 bus stop, was used by seniors before the Old Bridge High School campuses were merged. Now, its use is limited to storage of sand and other materials.

“If the board wanted to free up space, it would be good for the commuters of Old Bridge,” Phillips said, adding that it would be up to the board as to whether it wanted to charge money for use of the space.

Though she wants to look at the options of helping with the parking shortage, Hopman was not certain the Nike Missile Base could be used anytime in the near future. Phase II environmental testing is still ongoing there due to health concerns raised by school transportation employees who worked at the site.

Seeking solutions

Overall, Hopman said the shared services committee has embarked on a journey that will most likely bring benefits to the community. The panel’s meetings are open to the public, and she hopes more citizens will become involved and offer their thoughts and suggestions.

“I’m excited about all of it. There are a lot of key people at these meetings,” she said, noting the likes of Butler, who is also involved with the Chamber of Commerce in addition to his council seat, of Township Administrator Michael Jacobs, and Phillips and Azzarello. “Plus, there are residents who have children in the school district, and the meetings are made open to the public. I’d love to see more of the community at these meetings and to get more input. We all live in the same town and pay the same taxes.”

Phillips noted that the township and school board already share many services, from grant writing to fuel purchasing, but the future could hold many more opportunities.

“I compliment Annette Hopman in particular and the Board of Education for calling these meetings,” he said. “They allow us to put our problems on the table and seek solutions.”

The next committee meeting will be held in January in the Patrick Torre Administration Building. The date has yet to be set. Hopman is expected to set the date at the next regular board meeting on Dec. 19.