The following email was sent to the Berkeley Board of Education, Dr. Feltre, the Business Administrator and BHEA President:

The facilities issue is becoming increasingly concerning, especially when considering the budget realities.

At the last meeting, students and the BHEA urged the BOE to take swift action in addressing long-neglected facility repairs.

Ms. Akiri proposed what appeared to be a reasonable and immediate solution—one that would not require additional funds or the delays associated with referendums.

Since 2019, the Berkeley Heights School District has accumulated approximately $3.5 million in surplus funds. This raises several important questions:

1. Why must the District navigate what appears to be a convoluted process of ad hoc committees and referendums? Why not, as Ms. Akiri and other BOE members have suggested, conduct an assessment and obtain estimates for the necessary repairs?
2. If the total cost of repairs exceeds the available surplus, why not allocate the $3.5 million (or more, given that this figure spans five years) to the highest-priority repairs first and then pursue a referendum for any additional funding needed?
3. The community, students, and the BHEA have made it clear that immediate action is necessary. What is preventing the BOE from moving forward in using these funds that seem to be immediately available?

As per the ACFR:

If the reasoning behind a referendum is to allow the community a say, I fully support that. However, why not hold two separate referendums—one to approve the use of existing surplus funds and another to seek additional funding if required? What obstacle prevents this approach?

I invite all BOE members to provide clarity and respond to these critical questions.

For the record, NJ21st has brought up the issue of surplus and declining facilities for three years in both emails to the BOE and in published contributions. We are glad that the BOE and Administration are finally prioritizing this issue, and it is our hope that the BOE will act swiftly to resolve these issues.

John Migueis

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