Home › View all posts by Lisa Jacknow › Page 23

Author: Lisa Jacknow

The Pulse of Princeton: What Connections are Helping Our Community Survive the Pandemic?

Posted on by

Are you doing it right? Recycling 101

Posted on by

As everyone considers what they touch amid COVID-19, some are questioning the safety of leaving out used materials for recycling. Despite the concerns, recyclables continue to be collected in Princeton because the pick-up is considered an essential service. The recycling crews are protecting themselves wearing gloves and masks, but you could help them by recycling correctly and minimizing their need to sift through your bins. Crews have been instructed to leave contaminated materials and those that don’t qualify for our county recycling.

Turns out, many locals still don’t know the rules. Can’t all papers, plastics and glass get recycled? The answer is no!

RECYCLING REJECTION NOTICE! Have you recently seen this red tag attached to your recycling bin or to that of your neighbor? The Mercer County Improvement Authority (MCIA), who handles the curb-side recycling pick-up for Princeton, found too many people were putting the wrong items in their bins so it has started focusing efforts on educating and re-educating the public on what can be recycled. If your bins contain items that are noticeably forbidden, when you go to bring them inside at the end of the day you will likely find they are still full and have been tagged.

“Until a few weeks ago, I thought everything that has a recycling symbol could go into recycling,” states local resident Edye Kamenir. “Why put a recycling symbol on something that can’t be recycled?”

Seems like a valid question. The answer lies in the fact that one town may accept certain items while another town may not. Though New Jersey has had a recycling law since 1987, it allows counties and towns to choose their methods and types of recycling based on a variety of factors. Is it a county-wide pick-up or run by the municipality? Do they require you to separate certain products (dual stream) or recycle them all together (single stream)? Where do the recycled products end up? Towns are also allowed to add detail through local recycling ordinances.

Our curb-side recycling in Princeton (along with Hopewell Borough and Township, Pennington, Lawrence, Ewing and Hamilton) is handled by a county authority (as opposed to East Windsor, Hightstown & Robbinsville which are operated by their municipality) and has chosen to follow the single stream method which allows bottles, cans, certain containers and paper grades to all be collected together.

As the costs for recycling collection have increased, the MCIA launched this new campaign because they feel the only way to get people to pay attention is to refuse their bins.

“We wanted residents to know that placing recycling in plastic bags or placing pizza boxes in your curbside bucket was no longer acceptable and going forward would not be collected,” confirms Dan Napoleon, MCIA Director of Environmental Programs. “We conducted an extensive public awareness campaign including, but not limited to, social and print media, public access TV, websites, radio, and community newspapers. I also met with various community groups and environmental commissions.”

Some, like Kelly Harrison, have paid attention. “#1 and #2 plastics can be recycled in Princeton! Therefore, yogurt cups are out,” she notes. “Anything with grease (pizza boxes, to-go salad containers) are out. Tin foil – nope.”

Others are eager to do their part to help our environment but are unclear of the specifics and haven’t seen the public awareness campaign.

“I am sure we are probably not following the rules as we should. We fill almost 3 recycling bins a week but worry that we are not fully understanding what should be going in the bins,” says Riverside resident Leslie Schwartz.

To understand what is collected here, consider two things. First, is it desirable? If there’s not a major market for it in the recycling world, it’s likely not collected curb-side. Additionally, it boils down to what is “clean” versus what is “dirty.” If the item is made of pure materials or able to be wiped clean, it is likely picked up in our curb-side collection.

When it comes to glass, remember this – all colors of glass food and beverage jars/bottles can go in your bin, but drinking glasses or broken glass must stay out. The broken glass is dangerous to the collectors. Additionally, the chemical make-up of drinking glasses and mirrors, for example, contaminates the recycling process and could damage the equipment.

If you have used tissues, paper towels, paper plates or napkins, throw them in your trash. The oils and other residues left on them render them unusable for recycling. Other papers, like those you print or write on as well as envelopes (even those with windows) can go in your bin. Hard and soft-cover books can also be included.

When it comes to metals, if they are pure or didn’t touch hazardous materials, recycle them. You drank from aluminum beverage containers/cans and fed your pet from a food can, so rinse those and put them in the bin. But the aerosol cans or motor oil and anti-freeze containers you emptied contained poisons, so don’t attempt to recycle through our curb-side program (they may be dropped at scrap metal locations). Our program does not accept Aluminum foil/baking pans either.

The most successful Princeton recyclers tell Princeton Perspectives they have stayed on top of the rules by printing out the recycling information notices, which are posted on both the MCIANJ.org and Princeton.gov websites (and at the end of this article!). They post them in the kitchen or by their recycle bins as a reminder. There’s also an app! RecycleCoach can be uploaded and at your fingertips on any smartphone.

“The App allows for reminders of recycling collection days and special events such as our Household Hazardous / E-Waste Collection days or Document Shredding events,” adds Napoleon. ”Additionally, if a resident is unsure about whether a material is recyclable or not, there is a section What Goes Where that helps answer that question.”
All curb-side recycling must be placed in the official bins (either green or yellow) to be picked up. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the recent Household Hazardous Waste/Electronic Waste collection that was scheduled for March 28, 2020 was canceled. The next event will be June 20th.
There are many questions surrounding what and how to recycle. So here are some other FAQ we encountered. We hope these clarifications can help you recycle more completely:

Q: What happens to plastics #3-7? Can they be recycled anywhere?
A: Recycling is driven by the market. #5s can be dropped at Whole Foods, as there is a small desire for them. There is no market for #3, 4, 6 and 7 plastics so they are not being recycled (municipalities that collect them likely separate and discard them).

Q: I got a red tag on my bin but nothing was checked off. How do I know what I did wrong?
A: In those cases where a tag is left unchecked, residents can contact the MCIA office either via phone or through the website and they will aim to explain the problem.

Q: Why can’t I put recyclables in a plastic bag or include single-use plastic bags in my bin?
A: Plastic bags jam the equipment at recycling plants. They can be recycled but must be done in a different way and not through Princeton’s curbside pick-up. Instead, you can drop them around town at stores like McCaffrey’s, Whole Earth Center and Craft Cleaners.

Q: Can we leave caps on or must they be taken off bottles?
A: Whether the cap is left on or removed does not affect its ability to be recycled in our program. The real issue is that leaving caps on can be a safety hazard. When bottles are crushed in the trucks, caps can shoot off with force.

Q: Pizza boxes are made of corrugated cardboard, so why are they not accepted?
A: The boxes get contaminated with oil or various toppings. It is very difficult to get the aroma of garlic, for example, or other toppings out of the cardboard when it’s recycled.

To Go Reusable or Use Plastic Bags? That is Again the Question

Posted on by

“It is very important to me to eliminate plastic waste…with Covid-19 you recognize even more how much plastic we have for everything as we wipe our empty plastic bags and everything else immediately before we bring it into the house.” – Sanne Karner, Princeton resident.

Eliminating plastic waste has been a long-time goal for many residents and activists. In New Jersey, the push to encourage reusable bags instead of one-time use bags took a possible step forward just as COVID-19 was making its way state-side. On March 5, 2020 the State Senate voted 22-14 for a state-wide ban on single-use plastic carryout bags, single-use paper carryout bags, take-out foam food service products, and single-use plastic straws (though straws would still be available by request). Now, not only have efforts been halted, they’ve temporarily seen a reversal in attitudes no one could ever have predicted.

Within weeks of this vote, people were told we need to contain germs. Don’t touch things when you go out and use caution bringing outside items into your home. This brought into question whether it might in fact spread germs if people bring reusable items from their homes into public places. There is no scientific confirmation the virus lives on reusable shopping bags though it has been found on certain surfaces days after exposure.

Princeton Health Officer, Jeff Grosser, confirmed the municipal health department has asked local retailers to temporarily promote shopping with single-use bags instead. “It presents that extra exposure point with regards to shopping. Right now people are already on high alert about who they’re coming into contact with and who they’re being exposed to. We’re trying to limit exposure wherever we can.”

McCaffrey’s in Princeton is suggesting customers not bring in reusable bags and those that do enter with them must bag themselves from within their cart and are not allowed to put them on the cashier’s belt or register area. Nearby, Shoprite locations in both Skillman and Lawrenceville are still allowing reusable bags but customers must bag themselves. And down the road at Wegmans they were allowing and bagging reusables for their consumers, however they just changed their policy and now also request customers with reusables bag themselves.

By mid to late March the governors in Massachusetts and New Hampshire ordered temporary state-wide bans on the use of reusable bags in supermarkets. And in Connecticut, the $0.10 bag tax that had been instated to encourage people to bring their own bags to markets was temporarily halted to instead encourage use of single-use plastic that wouldn’t be brought back into a store. The step forward for health took a step backwards on the environment.

Princeton Perspectives polled fifty local residents aged 40-50, raising families in town. Despite the recent turn of events, only one-third of respondents were concerned with bringing reusable bags back and forth to stores. Yet, outside of COVID-19, nearly all respondents support the need to do their part to eliminate plastic waste.

“Before this month, I had been making a real effort to bring my bags to the grocery store. I was successful about 50-60% of the time. I hope to get back to this practice after this crisis has ended,” shared resident Judy Kutin.

There’s also hope from many local activists that after the health crisis we’ll be headed towards a local ban. Upon returning from spring break, Princeton University students from the Princeton Student Climate Initiative in partnership with Princeton Environmental Commission (PEC) were planning to get an online residential survey out to the community to help build support and consensus to pass an ordinance banning single-use plastic bags throughout Princeton. The survey never went out as those students never returned from break, forced instead into remote learning and social distancing by COVID-19. PEC and PU students had also planned to work on buy-in from the local business community.

“We were planning to launch the business survey at a meeting of the Princeton Merchants Association [the week of March 16th] planned by Councilwoman Pirone Lambros and to follow that up with students visiting local businesses to get their input via the survey,” said PEC Chair Sophie Glovier. “Once we had the survey input, we planned to move on to consider various model ordinances that have been developed and implemented by other towns.”

Hopewell Borough, in fact, used a similar model and approved a ban in January. After spending months educating their community and reaching out to local businesses, fifth-graders from Hopewell Elementary School and The Watershed Institute were able to encourage a unanimous vote by the Hopewell Borough Council to prevent local businesses from distributing single-use plastic bags. To assist in the transition, The Watershed has distributed more than 650 reusable bags locally and plans to offer more. The current pandemic is now affecting the start date, which was supposed to be next week on April 22nd (Earth Day!). “Due to the health emergency and the obvious shifting of priorities stemming from the COVID-19 virus, the Borough will suspend the implementation of the single-use plastic bag ban,” confirmed Hopewell Borough Administrator Michele Hovan. “While the ban is important from an environmental standpoint, this is not the time to add regulations and pressures onto to our business community.” At the next regularly scheduled meeting on May 7, 2020 the Borough Council will formally suspend the ban and discuss a new date.

In the meantime, the educational aspect remains important to get buy-in from the public. In passing their bill, the NJ Senate hopes to let New Jersey residents know that in our state alone we go through 4.4 BILLION plastic bags each year. While several retailers collect plastic bags for recycling, most residents erroneously place them in their curb-side bins where they clog the recycling machines. In addition, the legislature and other activists want the public to know that most plastics in general don’t biodegrade but just break down into smaller parts that end up littering our environment. For a state with a robust shoreline, it’s important to understand that scientists have estimated by 2050 there will be a larger mass of plastics in the ocean than fish.

Some in Princeton have been trying for nearly a decade to share statistics like these and enact a change in culture surrounding the use of single-use plastic bags. In 2011, locals partnered with Sustainable Princeton to start the BYOBag Campaign. And while it started conversations and the initiative is still promoted by the Princeton Merchants Association and several local retailers, it is now April 2020 and there remains no formal policy in town. The State Senate made a step forward, but the State Assembly still needs to vote, and Governor Phil Murphy would still need to sign. A bill similar to this one was rejected by the Assembly in January.

Another local attempt was made in 2014. Mercer County tried to move the issue forward with County Executive Brian Hughes and his Freeholders supporting Ballot Question #3, which would have created a $0.05 fee for each single-use plastic bag used by consumers. The question was intended to see how the residents felt about this issue and would have been non-binding, yet it failed. Princeton residents had voted in favor, but overall, the other Mercer County residents did not.

The Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC) has spent this past year trying to regain momentum for this cause. This non-profit works with local and state agencies to try and promote sustainable communities and believes that if enough municipalities pass bans on single-use bags, the state will ultimately create a ban. Members of Princeton Environmental Commission attended an ANJEC training session last summer to learn best practices from other municipalities. They then passed a resolution in late 2019 to support a statewide approach but made a goal of developing an ordinance in Princeton if that didn’t happen soon.

Those Princetonians that responded to our survey seem ready for change. 66% keep a reusable bag in their car at all times.

“Eliminating plastic waste is an aspirational goal and I would go to very extensive lengths to get there,” says local Jim Davidge. “The challenge obviously is that it takes more than 30-40% of the population to elicit this type of change. The entire wholesale and retail supply chains would need to be completely revamped.”

As proven in our poll: while nearly 80% of respondents are inclined to bring a reusable bag with them to the supermarket, 66% of them do not usually bring one into stores like WalMart or Target and only 21% bring them along when shopping for clothing. One respondent suggests more stores should remove packaging options all together, like Costco does and another advises a plastic bag ban like New York state or a surcharge for using plastic bags could better curb the behavior.

“I think I would be better at it if I had no options,” agrees resident Lauren Raivetz. “For example, when we lived abroad, we had to bring our own bags to the store or else we were paying almost $1 for a grocery bag. I think other countries do it better than we do.”

Here at home, the state legislation underway would go further than any state in the union by banning both plastic and paper. It notes that single-use paper carryout bags use as much or more energy and resources to manufacture and transport than single-use plastic carryout bags and contribute to harmful air emissions. It’s important to note that the plastic ban they approved is for bags you would get at the checkout counter and does not include some used for sanitary reasons such as the plastic sliced-deli is put into, those used for loose items like fruit and vegetables and those provided at a dry cleaner to protect your clothes.

The inclusion of the paper bag ban kept a similar bill from moving through the Assembly earlier this year, so it is unclear whether this new bill will move forward. If approved then signed by Governor Murphy, it will take 18 months to go into law. NJ would then join California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Oregon and Vermont with a state-wide law.

COVID-19 is still here and minimizing the risk of spreading germs remains top priority. If swapping your reusable bag for a plastic one is weighing on you, there is still something you can do to help our environment.

Princeton McCaffrey’s Store Manager Anthony Sanfilippo says they’re still accepting single-use plastics there for recycling. “The bags go in a bin and aren’t touching anything or returned to the shelf or sales floor for consumption. So we’ll still collect them. The maintenance guy takes them away in a sanitary way.”

As soon as the local infrastructure makes it possible again, PEC and other local activists intend to continue their mission to reduce plastic waste and make it the rule of law.

“Princeton residents have been concerned about the pollution caused by single-use plastics for many years,” confirms Glovier. “I do continue to believe that the well documented negative environmental impacts of single-use plastics make it very important that we find a way to do without them.”

Editor’s Note

Posted on by

Welcome back to Princeton Perspectives!

A lot has happened in the month since we launched. COVID-19 is no longer something happening there, it’s happening here and everywhere. We wish you all good health and are eternally grateful to our essential workers, saving lives in hospitals, selling us groceries, teaching our children, collecting our trash and so much more. The rest of us are staying home doing our part to try and flatten the curve. But did you know some scientists speculate that over time climate change will kill more people than COVID-19? What will it take for people to start making changes to help flatten that curve?

In this April issue, One Person, One Family, One Town – Our Role in Sustainability we take a look at different ways you can contribute, explore how one family has changed to do more and take a deep look at what is happening in and around Princeton to save our planet. We planned this issue back in January, anticipating the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day on April 22nd, before we had any inclination that COVID-19 would hit us like this. It is amazing to see how it’s infiltrated so many parts of our lives, even living a sustainable one.

In To Go Reusable or Use Plastic Bags? That is Again the Question I had intended to share the changes that have been made or are underway in town to eliminate plastics. As I started to research my story, I found that not only had COVID-19 derailed some of the plans, it has made some people temporary rethink their reusables. Read on to find out how the story unfolds.

Some things, so far, do remain unchanged and that includes the ability to ride bikes. The author of My Biking Life takes us on her two-wheel journey around Princeton. Her story and interactions mostly took place before our days of isolation, but they offer great insight into how one person and one family can make a difference for themselves and the rest of us.

We also each play a major role in climate change. With everyone staying home and cars remaining in driveways, it’s been amazing to see evidence on recent maps of China detailing lower levels of pollution in the sky. Here in Princeton, you’d be surprised to learn how many ways you can do your part. Bending the Climate Curve shows us what roles we’ve played to get us where we are today and what we can do going forward.

Little by little, we all can help clean up our environment and make it a better place for future generations. It was amazing to find that even the best intentioned are a bit confused when it comes to recycling, so I’m hoping to clarify it all for you in Are You Doing it Right – Recycling 101. Curb-side pick-up continues, and you can help make it the most efficient by reading what goes in, what does not and why!

The Pulse of Princeton is a poll this month and we want your perspective!  Take the poll to tell us how much (or how little) environmentalism weighs on your travel decisions.

We are excited that more than 2500 of you checked out our inaugural issue, School 101- Education in Princeton Today! If you missed it, it’s available under archives.

We wish you continued good health and hope you enjoy this issue. We look forward to sharing more with you next month as Princeton Perspectives delves into Connections – What’s Gotten us Through and What Keeps us Going!

The Pulse of Princeton: What Parents are Saying about their School Choice

Posted on by

The Changing Landscape of Princeton Preschools

Posted on by

“I have my fingers crossed, all of my fingers and toes. And my husband, too, everyone is crossing their fingers,” shares Begoña Mendiguren, as she waits to find out if her daughter will get a Princeton Public Schools Pre-kindergarten spot for the 2020-2021 school year. Mendiguren shares a sentiment commonly heard around town lately, as parents await an April 17th lottery for enrollment into Princeton’s free and newly expanded public offerings in early childhood education. But how will this option affect the greater community? Several private preschools have already seen the cost of shrinking enrollment numbers due to the changing needs of parents. In June, another traditional nursery school will close, the third to do so in the past five years.

University League Nursery School (ULNS), founded by a group of Princeton University families in 1949, announced last fall it’s done at the end of this school year. ULNS had taken over the home of The Jewish Center Preschool (The Joan Levin School of Early Childhood Education) when it shut its doors in 2016. And further down Nassau Street, in the Nassau Presbyterian Church, Dietrich Johnson is no longer. That cooperative nursery school shuttered in 2015.

While the traditional morning nursery school landscape within Princeton proper is shrinking, public offerings are expanding. Princeton Public Schools, which has been operating a 30-student public-funded, full-day general education Pre-kindergarten program since 2004, opened a dual-language PreK and a classroom for 3-year olds this past fall. A limited number of spots used to be available, at a cost, to community members that didn’t qualify with a financial or special need. Now all spots are free and the program is set to expand further with an additional 3-year old classroom for the 2020-2021 school year, aiming to offer preschool to 75 Princeton children.

The catch is, not every child that wants to, can get into Princeton Public School’s program. All general population families wishing to enroll their child have an opportunity to do so until April 2nd, but they’re not all guaranteed a spot. First, they must be a Princeton resident. Then, there is still priority registration. By law, space is guaranteed for students eligible for special services as well as those who are economically disadvantaged (qualifying for the Federal Meals Benefit Program).  Veronica Ulrich, Grant Writer and Coordinator of Special Projects for PPS helped the district secure the additional state aid in 2019 that made the expansion possible. “Our growth is dictated by the needs of the community and we will continue to do our best in response to that need,” says Urlich. If you don’t meet one of those qualifications, you could be entered into a lottery to fill the remaining spots. “Availability is determined after current students are placed in the next level and we have completed thorough outreach to the economically disadvantaged families in our community.” For the 2019-2020 school year, 50% of the spots were given to students qualifying for the Federal Meals Benefit Program, and the school is currently full with a waitlist of approximately 10 students.

In Princeton, all of the existing preschools do offer some level of scholarship in an attempt to help those with financial need, but one was created specifically with those families in mind. Since 1929, the philosophy at Princeton Nursery School (PNS) has been “to help families improve their lives and help by providing peace of mind of a preschool education,” says PNS Executive Director Rosanda Wong. To enroll your child at PNS you must be working parents, parents going to college, or a combination. Included in its tuition, which is often at least partly paid for by state subsidies and scholarships (only two current families pay full monthly tuition) PNS offers 12-month schooling, including before and after care, meals and supports for the whole family. Means beyond those a public school can offer. While it has a natural concern the public program could pull from its population of potential families, it is not planning to change to compete. “Some families who are Princeton residents who would qualify for PPS have remained at PNS because a free program is free only to a certain extent,” says Wong. “If you need before and after care or coverage on days the public school district is closed, you have to pay for it.” Notably, only 50% of Princeton Nursery School families reside in Princeton, so half its population isn’t even eligible for the PPS program.

The rise in dual-working families helped shutter Dietrich Johnson and The Jewish Center (TJC) Preschool. Susan Kanter was Vice President of Education at TJC when it made the decision to close. She told Princeton Perspectives, “the availability of early drop-off, late pick-up, and a full program that ran 52-weeks a year were some of the factors that led TJC to end the program.”

ULNS, had attempted to keep up with those needs. Though it’s continued to offer a morning-only program, a full-day option was added in the 1990s. The nursery school had approximately 112 children for years, including when it moved from its Princeton University location to its Jewish Center home. It now has 66. That number is still higher than most but doesn’t afford them the opportunity to stay true to their core mission and compete with the expanded PPS program. So they, too, made the decision to close.  We “would have had to pare down to such a smaller school which would affect the tradition of high-quality nursery education. We were seeing the picture down the road.” said school Director Cindy Schenthal.

Free preschool, a haven for families with financial insecurity, is also a helpful option for those who have a tight budget or would like to use that money elsewhere. Lindsay Weiss saw people choose it in the fall when the PPS program expanded and ULNS announced its plans to close. “One family was signed up to go to ULNS but switched to public and has been very happy,” says Weiss. Her middle child is graduating from ULNS, and she has a younger one who is ready to begin. She’s opting to put her youngest in another private school but adds, that’s not everyone’s plan. “I think a lot of people are going to be leaving private to get free preschool.”

It’s that concern that may be creating a new enrollment trend. With the desire to attract ULNS families to their nursery programs, and in an effort to deter the possibility of current families leaving for the free public option, some enrollment obligations shifted this year. One Nassau Nursery School parent witnessed her school working to lock families in this past December, earlier than the usual commitment time of February.   Cherry Hill Nursery School was another. Enrollment there normally begins in January or February. “We’re seeing a pull from PPS,” said school director Shreya Dasgupta. “Even some folks that toured the school were candid in that they’d rather wait to commit until they heard from the free preschool.” But, there is risk involved by waiting, as you may end up without a spot. The phone started ringing at Cherry Hill when ULNS announced it was closing and this year 2 of their 4 classrooms were already full by late January. “Since there’s so much interest, the deadline for contracts was moved sooner,” added Dasgupta, noting their smaller size is a factor, too. Cherry Hill has just one class for each age, from 2 to 5-years old.

Most of the preschools in Princeton proper have their niche. Nassau Nursery and Cherry Hill are cooperatives and for parents that don’t want a full day. Some are affiliated with other institutions, like University NOW, a daycare catering to mostly Princeton University families. Administrative Director Anja Zimmermann at Crossroads Nursery School, on the campus of The Institute for Advanced Studies, says though nearly 70% of its preschool age population tends to come from the greater community, they can’t adapt their enrollment schedule to compete. “We can’t do early enrollment,“ states Zimmermann. “We have to wait until Institute members get their letters of admittance, to know which families we’ll have.” Crossroads plans to keep a waitlist until it opens admissions to the community in mid-March and will then see if the ULNS closure and PPS expansion affect it. However, Zimmermann says “at this point, it’s same as usual in hearing from members of the community.”

Making small changes and staying in their lane seem to be trends for attempted sustainability. Independent schools like Princeton Montessori, which offers early childhood education that continues into grade school, is doing just that. At Montessori, they’re counting on the fact that their 150-year old methodology will keep parents from leaving for the free public option. “We have a completely different product,” says Michelle Morrison, Head of School. “Our teachers become experts on child development over 3 years, not three days, and we’re meeting a progressive vision of what education should be that public schools are trying to catch up on.” She cautions parents to pick the school that’s best for their child. “I understand that for many dual-working families, free sounds good, but they have to look deeper and take a look at what the experience really feels like for their child.”

Despite other options, with an 18-month old at home, Begoña Mendiguren hopes her PreK daughter can attend Johnson Park with her two older children. She and many others anxiously await what the options dictate after 2pm on April 17th, when Princeton Public Schools holds its lottery for any remaining preschool spots. For those that don’t get in or choose private, there are still great preschool options in Princeton proper, and many more beyond its borders.

PPS Referendum- How’s our Money Being Spent?

Posted on by

Whether you have children in the public schools or not, if you own a home in Princeton your taxes are affected by the Princeton Public Schools referendum. Fifteen months ago the residents of Princeton voted to approve the most recent bond referendum for $26.9m. With remote learning currently in place, and limited faculty on site at the schools, the referendum work is expected to continue. As contractors are taking extra health precautions for their workers, and we inch closer to summer and the impending June retirement of Superintendent Steve Cochrane, where has our money gone and what is still to be done?

Seven projects were outlined in this referendum and so far, three are completed. Those include a new HVAC system at Riverside Elementary School, air conditioning installed at the Princeton High School gym and some elementary school electrical upgrades. The fourth project, security upgrades at the town’s four elementary schools, was awarded at the November 2019 Board of Education public meeting.

Security at the Schools

Security seems like it’d be an early priority and initially, the security vestibule construction was planned for 2019. But earlier last year, as the PPS Board and administration began preparations, they learned more time was needed to make the security transition more successful. It was important to take time, Superintendent Cochrane said, “to fully educate our community about our security needs and approaches and to begin to change behaviors and practices before constructing the vestibules.” The district implemented lobby guards, set up new technology systems for visitors and met with parents and staff at each school. This month, security films were installed over the elementary school windows. Most of the designs for the new vestibules were completed by January, but there was a minor change at Littlebrook and input from some constituents at Community Park prompted further adjustments. “When I looked at the plans, I thought the design could be simpler,” says professional architect and Community Park parent, Louisa Clayton. “I just made some tweaks to the vestibule and also to the front office space to work better with visibility.” The district and BOE worked with Clayton and others to make the modifications, while trying to push things along and stay on schedule, but the Board is still waiting to learn if these changes will affect pricing. Doors and hardware have been ordered and interior classroom door replacement is scheduled to begin during the night-shift, one school at a time, as early as April. The remaining vestibule and construction work in the elementary schools is still planned to be done over the summer, where many existing entry doors will be reused.

John Witherspoon Middle School gets Started

John Witherspoon Middle School renovations have begun. It started with minor piping work in February and at the start of March, major projects. The old library, or Academic Conference Center (ACC) is sealed off and will be converted into four flexible learning spaces. Part of that space was initially planned for an expanded nursing area, but the Board decided to save that for classrooms and instead incorporate a front school office to completely overhaul the nurses’ suite with proper medical, exam and resting rooms, as well as a bathroom. “This was not a change as much as doing what was planned, a little better,” adds Board member Brian McDonald, authorized by the Board President and Superintendent to speak about the referendum on behalf of the Board. Attempts were made to confine the noise, as some of this work was taking place during school hours. Major demolition is scheduled to begin this weekend, and with no students on campus during remote learning, may even accelerate. JW Principal Jason Burr has been sending weekly emails to school families to keep them abreast of the scope of work and its progress. Additionally, when students return in September, they can expect a new secure and reconfigured entryway as well as new air conditioning units in 46 classrooms and HVAC in the cafeteria and new ACC space.

Elementary HVAC Fixes

Last summer’s HVAC project at Riverside Elementary School, which caused Riverside students to begin classes one day after the rest of the district, has framed the way plans are being made for future projects. This includes the air conditioning and heating improvements at JW and the remaining elementary schools. From experiences in other districts, the Board also learned to push construction dates, guaranteeing everything is prepped, ordered and on site before project launch. As district rules dictate, the elementary schools’ bids and the middle school bid were awarded to the lowest, qualified and responsible bidder at the December Board of Education public meeting. McDonald says they learned from the Riverside project that “including more milestones in the bids and the contracts to ensure that the contractor has very clear intermediate deadlines” will better track the work is getting done. In preparation, most of the wire for these jobs has already been run at the other three elementary Schools. Switchgears have been delivered and are being positioned outside and the Board hopes to get the new transformers at Littlebrook and Community Park installed before the end of spring break but PPS doesn’t have full control as the transformers are provided and installed by PSE&G. A/C unit installation at those two schools is planned to take place at the close of school this June. To ensure proper access, PSE&G requires the Johnson Park transformer be relocated. At its next meeting the Board plans to vote and finalize the new location so it can get installed (hopefully also during spring break), however, due to its large summer school program and a need to relocate students, Johnson Park’s new HVAC systems won’t be bid until next year and fully installed until summer 2021.

High School Renovations

The high school improvements are hoping to see some momentum this week, with work on the 2nd level fitness center and four additional classrooms expected to break ground this summer. This is part of the final major project outlined in the PPS referendum, which totals approximately $10,000,000. It also includes high school guidance renovation, drainage and athletic field improvements. The high school project is a bit different than the others, as it’s a full 12-months of work (not a short-term, summer-only plan) and the HS site plans require approval from the state before permits can be issued. PPS is still awaiting this final feedback and the Board is aiming to get bid papers out early April to begin work in June.  Due to safety concerns and the complicated set of projects, the work will be done in pieces through summer 2021.

Expected to be completed this summer, however, is an auxiliary dining space in the high school, though it won’t be funded by the referendum. Final costs for each project have come in a bit higher than estimated. With costs tight, the BOE sought out other ways to get wanted projects completed and found money in an existing Food Service Enterprise Fund to support this new dining option. Upgrades to the HS elevators have been deemed important, but the referendum may not have enough funds to cover them, either. Those funds and other smaller projects may come from the district’s $2.3m Capital Reserve Fund. “Pushing up against the limit of referendum funds is not uncommon,” says McDonald. “But we will continue to do our best to get everything done inside the $26.9m envelope and will not defer anything really core to the referendum.” This issue has prompted some hard questions from constituents but does fall within the law.

What’s next?

The 2018 referendum did not fully solve for Princeton Public Schools growing population. So, could there be another referendum on the horizon? “The District’s current planning process was not designed to give us a new referendum,” says Cochrane, as the district is currently reviewing the use and functionality of existing facilities and evaluating educational needs. In January, they held a public forum where current and future demographic numbers and enrollment forecasts were presented to the public. The data indicates Princeton’s K-8 enrollment has increased 10% already in the past four years and K-12 is projected to grow up to 20% in the next ten. Additionally, 780 of the new Fair Share Housing units will be designed to accommodate families. Updated and more detailed demographic data was also shared with the community on February 27th. Cochrane says that data was provided to allow us to work together to figure out the best way to address the growth now and for the future. “As of yet, we do not know what those options will be,” he adds. “Some of those options could involve facility improvements; some could involve redrawing our elementary sending areas; some could involve creative changes in our school schedules; and certainly the planning process will produce other options for all of us to consider.” After extremely contentious pushback from some community members through the 2018 referendum planning process, PPS is asking for community input and is collaborating through workshops, informational meetings, focus groups and email blasts.  Additional community meetings were planned for the end of March and April, though with social distancing in place that schedule may get altered. The Board intends to continue this work, despite Superintendent Cochrane’s departure at the end of June. Board of Education President, Beth Behrend shared that “Steve’s departure will be a loss for PPS but our work on major initiatives including planned facilities renovations will continue full speed ahead.” She added the district is committed to finding proper learning spaces for all students and staff.

Anyone in the community that wants to be kept abreast of referendum and planning information but is not part of the Princeton Public School population should send their contact information to Communications@princetonk12.org.

Editor’s Note

Posted on by

Welcome to Princeton Perspectives! We are excited to share our debut issue with you!

Princeton Perspectives was conceived twelve years ago when Princeton Online (POL) had an idea to create a topical online magazine. POL had found success designing and hosting hyper-local community websites and informing the community about local events and resources. But Peter wanted to take it further – to start a sister site that looked deeper into some of the stories the community was interested in. The idea sat with him for years.

Enter Lisa Jacknow – currently a stay at home mom who had spent years as a television reporter and producer in New York and New Jersey. Lisa had started getting back into journalism and was eager to share stories about the town of Princeton, where she calls home.

As luck would have it, they were introduced by a mutual friend who thought Peter’s vision and Lisa’s talents might be just what Princeton needed. With a shared desire to take a closer look at the things that matter in our town and to our community, the two have now teamed up and created Princeton Perspectives.

Princeton Perspectives will use articles, features and commentary to take an in-depth look at timely information. Delving deep into one topic of interest every issue, our magazine will also feature guest writers from our community who are embedded in the stories they write about.

For our inaugural issue, School 101 – Education in Princeton Today, we decided to focus on current events affecting schools in our town. People world-over know the town of Princeton because we are home to Princeton University. If you include other colleges and institutes, public and private day and boarding schools, Princeton proper alone contains more than 25 schools!

Our Principal’s Perspective: COVID-19 addresses the latest issue affecting education – and nearly everything in our lives. Princeton Perspectives brings you a look from the inside, as local elementary school Principal Dr. Robert Ginsberg shares his experiences as an administrator in this trying time.

Also affecting all tax-paying Princeton residents is the latest Princeton Public Schools referendum, so we are excited to have had the opportunity to work closely with the school district, contractors and community members to stay up-to-date on the projects and bring you PPS Referendum – How’s our Money Being Spent? These projects are moving forward and ever-changing.  The details are here.

Sharing first-hand knowledge from teenagers inside our area high schools is an important lens into the problem of vaping amongst teens. Local municipal substance abuse treatment and prevention agency, Corner House, uses its resources and experience to bring us Princeton Teens and Vaping. It’s an enlightening view about a major national problem.

Early childhood education is another area seeing nationwide trends.  It’s no different here in Princeton, but how are our schools faring? The Changing Landscape of Princeton Preschools examines the way early childhood education is adjusting in our town.

With top-ranked public schools, a thriving Charter school, many options for sought after private schools and alternative options most Princeton families have choices.

Watch The Pulse of Princeton to see what the community is saying about their school choices.

We are excited to launch and look forward to having you along for the ride! Stay tuned for our next issue, One person, One Family, One town – our Roles in Sustainability.