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BUTLER - Superintendent urges support for $4 million referendum
(by Stephen Janoski - Staff Writer - August 27, 2008)
BUTLER - Interim Superintendent Elaine Baldwin made an impassioned presentation to the Borough Council on Tuesday, Aug. 19 in support of the school board’s proposed $3.9 million referendum.
The referendum, on which residents will vote Sept. 30, is a three-question proposal that with voter approval would launch massive improvements on three borough fields: Hempsted, Memorial and Aaron Decker School. These improvements would include a new all-weather track, field lighting, bleacher upgrades and the installation of an artificial turf field at Memorial.
“One of the things the board was adamant about was getting out clear, concise information,” said Baldwin.
“When last year’s referendum was defeated, the board was concerned that misinformation on the proposal was out there. Because this is a small community, I’m well aware of how the rumormill starts; it’s even quicker than the Internet.
“After the last referendum was voted down, we considered why it failed. A number of people said we should go back to the drawing board and create a whole new proposal, but that would’ve cost thousands in architecture fees. This time, we tried to give more choice to the voters – hence, the three-question format,” said Baldwin.
She discussed possible safety issues with the artificial turf fields, which could directly impact whether part of the referendum passes.
Pointing to fields in Northern Valley/Demarest and Hasbrouck Heights, Baldwin said that some fields are still closed, even after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission released a report saying that lead levels in the fields pose no threat to children.
“The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services is finishing its review, and many fields are closed until then. There seems to be a difference in how the tests were done, but we’re staying on top of this and watching it closely,” said Baldwin.
The figures were then broken down for the council, with Baldwin adding that a full 40 percent of the project will utilize state debt service aid.
“I don’t come before you with an agenda or an axe to grind. As an objective third party, I can say that this referendum is about health and safety of the children. The fields are in very poor shape, and I believe that the children of Butler deserve better. I feel very passionate about this,” said Baldwin.
Mayor Joseph Heywang asked Baldwin about the presentation of the questions.
“If I vote 'no' on question one, can I still vote 'yes' on questions two and three?” he asked.
“Yes, but number one must pass. It’s the 'base' question. I’m sure you’ve all gotten ballots where you have no idea what the question is, and then you read the interpretative statement, and you have no idea what that means either. We’re trying to make it easier by breaking it up and giving people a choice, but we also have to make sure that citizens know what it all means.”
Councilwoman Judith Woop was curious if any research was done into having a degree of private funding integrated into the project.
“I don’t believe that was considered,” said Baldwin. “It’s tough in regards to how much money we can get from that. The PTA is always having fundraisers, and the taxpayers pick up a lot… how many times can we go to the same well?”
Woop also asked if incoming Superintendent Mario Cardinale is prepared for the workload of moving the referendum forward if it gains approval.
“We’ve already had conversations in regards to the information, and I have every confidence (in him). He’s very supportive. If the referendum is successful, he will be doing the paperwork, the bids…he’ll go right into the thick of it and he’ll be fine,” said Baldwin.
The depth of the presentation, as well as Baldwin’s extensive research, impressed the council.
“You can’t miss this one. You guys have certainly put the information out there,” said Councilman Robert Fox.
Mayor Joseph Heywang thanked Baldwin for the time devoted to the project:
“We thank you for keeping the council updated on all of the issues, problems, etc. with the project.”
Councilman Robert Fox later said that he thought the school board was truly doing everything in its power this time around in order to make the referendum pass.
“I think they’re doing what they need to do to get more positive votes,” Fox said. “Last time, they didn’t get the correspondence out there. This time, they’re letting everybody know exactly where it’s at.”
He went on to say that though economic times are tough, he supports the measure and hopes that it passes.
“It’s going to be close. It’s a lot of money, and I can’t blame people for not having an extra dollar to spend. That’s the situation we’re in. But we’ve got to keep the schools and the athletic programs up to par, and it would be a great step for the town. We could finally have the track meets at home again. People have to understand that these fields get used a lot more than they did years ago. That means that sometimes they’re going to have to be fixed, and sometimes they’re going to have to be replaced,” Fox said.
Mayor Heywang was also enthusiastic about the presentation.
“I’m very pleased. I invited her so all the members would understand the questions being posed and how these things work. We got the answers.”
Heywang also stated his support for the referendum:
“It’s long overdue. It’s not just for the schools. Because the borough itself doesn’t own any fields, many recreation programs use them as well. The objective was to make the track competitive so the high school could use it again.
“This is for everyone in the community; there’s a lot of residents who use that track recreationally,” the mayor added. “There are things about infrastructure that you have to take care of, and the same goes for school facilities. Improvements shouldn’t just happen over a 10- or 20-year period and then stop. It needs to be an ongoing thing over the course of the life of a community,” Heywang said.
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