Student count

The Middlesex Borough school district’s projected enrollment for the coming years will soon be discussed by the Board of Education.

“The demographic study has been completed and a presentation is being scheduled at an upcoming Board of Education meeting to discuss the findings,” School Superintendent Dr. Roberta Freeman said in an email on Friday, April 19.

While a specific date has not yet been mentioned, the board has three sessions scheduled for next month. A special budget hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, May 1. The following week, a Committee of the While meeting is planned on Tuesday, May 7 and an Action meeting on Wednesday, May 8.

The board hired Milltown-based Ross Haber Associates in February to conduct the demographic study at a cost of $2,800. The study includes projections based on a six-year enrollment history and kindergarten projections based on Middlesex Borough live birth data. It also considers planned and approved new housing projects, sales trends of existing units, and school and community demographics.

Demographic studies are often the first step taken by area school boards before proposing a construction referendum or other steps to accommodate anticipated enrollment increases.

According to figures reported to the state Department of Education, the borough district’s enrollment rose 3.52% between October 2021 and October 2023. Last fall, the borough district’s reported student counts were 2,054 full-time students and 2,067 Middlesex resident pupils.

At another February meeting, Freeman told board members that the district is lacking for space in all of its schools, according to the minutes of that session. Additional space will need to be obtained very soon to accommodate the growing enrollment, she added. 

The board last held a large-scale construction referendum in 2017, when voters overwhelmingly rejected a $55 million proposal by a 7-to-1 margin.

In March 2022, the board held a smaller $9.1 million referendum to address several maintenance-type projects. It was approved by 63% of participating voters.

The approved projects included parking lot improvements at Von E. Mauger and Watchung schools, roof work at Mauger and Middlesex High schools, and fire alarm replacements at Hazelwood School and Middlesex High.

The board recently saw a longtime member rejoin the panel after a three-month hiatus.

Sharon Schueler, who previously served on the board for more than 15 years, was appointed to fill a vacancy on Tuesday, April 16. That vacancy was created by the late March resignation of board member Amelia Sherr.

Schueler finished fifth in a six-way contest for three school board seats decided in the November 2023 general election. She served on the board continuously from April 2008 through last December. At that point, she vacated her board seat due to the election loss.

The board’s Tuesday Committee of the Whole meetings are not streamed or recorded for later viewing. The Wednesday Action meetings are streamed and recorded.

Noting Schueler’s appointment at a Tuesday meeting, Inside – Middlesex asked Freeman if the board intends to begin streaming Committee of the Whole meetings for public viewing.

“COVID-19 forced everyone to reimagine the way things were done,” Freeman replied. “To effectively conduct regular business, during a time when very few people, or no people were in person, Board of Education meetings were live streamed. In fact, District Policy 0164.6 establishes this practice.” 

Committee of the Whole meetings, Freeman added, are intended as publicly held workshop meetings. 

“(Committee of the Whole) Meetings afford the board the opportunity to receive necessary professional learning and training from New Jersey School Boards Association, and to participate in team building activities to strengthen and cultivate a positive culture of leadership,” Freeman said.

“These meetings, however, rarely involve action taken by the board,” she continued. “Rather, any necessary action is generally taken at the board’s Action Meeting, the day after its Committee of the Whole meeting.“

“Currently both of our meetings are open to the public without any restrictions for in-person attendance,” Freeman concluded. “Therefore, regardless of whether either or both are live streamed, the public is welcome to physically attend both meetings.  At this time, the board has not considered streaming the Committee of the Whole meetings.”

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