Growth again an issue for Marlboro schools

MARLBORO — Administrators in the township’s K-8 school district will have to take steps to deal with continuing enrollment growth over the next few years, Superintendent of Schools David Abbott said this week.

The options available to the Board of Education may include seeking the public’s approval for the construction of a new elementary school.

Marlboro’s 2004-05 school year will kick off on Sept. 2. When pupils begin their studies, the district’s classrooms will all be at or near capacity, Abbott reported. Almost 6,100 students will be enrolled in Marlboro schools this year.

The number of students in the district is growing at a faster rate than previously anticipated, Abbott reported.

"We expected 800 more students by the end of the decade, but now we’re looking at 1,000 more students by then," Abbott said.

Administrators are exploring several options to deal with looming overcrowding problems, the superintendent reported. He said he expects that within three years residents will be asked to approve the construction of a new elementary school. Abbott said he will actively begin seeking land for a new school shortly after the 2004-05 school year begins.

In January, residents will be asked to approve a 10-classroom addition to the Marlboro Early Learning Center, Abbott said.

"The first step in addressing the increased student population is through an addition at the Marlboro Early Learning Center, where the majority of the growth is focused," Abbott wrote in a newsletter sent to residents.

Other options for dealing with the increase in enrollment include the use of classroom trailers, in­creasing the size of classes and changing the cut-off date at which children can start kindergarten, the superintendent said.

Currently, the district allows children who will turn 5 years old by Dec. 31 to enroll in kinder­garten. In the future, this cut-off date may be moved up to October, Abbott said, noting that Marl-boro now has the latest cut-off date among local school districts.

By the 2005-06 school year some special education or regular kindergarten classes at the Marlboro Early Learning Center will have to be placed in other schools, the superintendent said. Since state law does not allow 3-, 4- and 5-year-old children to be placed in trailers without bath­rooms, which have a significant cost to install, older children will attend classes in trailers, Abbott said.