Westfield School District to Hold Two Bond Referendum Meetings Sept. 19

The Westfield school district will hold two public meetings on Wednesday, Sept. 19 regarding the upcoming bond referendum. The first will take place at 9:30 a.m. in the auditorium and the second will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium. 

The capital projects proposed through the $16.9 million bond referendum include replacement and repair of the majority of the school district’s roofs, which the Westfield  maintains have exceeded their life expectancy, and the installation of a lighted turf field at .

On Aug. 15, the BOE announced it created a website, www.westfieldnjk12.org/bond2012, which includes the following sections: Summary of the bond proposal; Questions and Answers; Letter to Residents from the Board of Education; Powerpoint presentations on the roofs and field; Schedule of meetings on the proposal; Voting information – including absentee ballot application download; and a Contact Form to e-mail the Board, to inform residents of the upcoming special election to be held from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, Sept. 24. 

Some Westfielders have expessed their opposition to the referendum because they believe the two proposed projects should not be bundled together. In a heated a large group of Westfield residents let Board members know they do not want the lighted field in their neighborhood, which they believe is already "overburdened." 

The proposed field is the district’s response to an increasing amount of participation in athletics, a trend that will presumably only continue given the expected student population bump. Westfield school district  Sandra Mamary said the facility would increase capacity for athletic and physical education activity, allow for repeated field use without damaging the grounds, and alleviate what has become a difficult scheduling situation. Plans for the , which is estimated to cost $3.3 million, , in mid-May. 

When asked who will be hosting and attending the meeting, Westfield schools spokesperson Lorre Korecky said additional information will be forthcoming. 

Check back with Patch over the next several weeks for more on this issue. To see more on this topic, visit Patch's Lighted Turf Field Topic Page. 

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