Hillsborough Middle School, Part 2

When Hillsborough voters rejected the construction referendum to build the township's first high school in 1964, the school board did not place the matter before the public again for nearly a full two years. After the first middle school plan was turned down in March 1971, the board decided on a completely different approach.

27 April 1971 Courier News

Convinced that the vote failed by a better than two-to-one margin because taxpayers didn't like the fact that the board was paying twice the assessed value for the 30-acre site at Pleasantview and Amwell Roads, the board was back within weeks of the referendum with a brand new plan.

The proposed location of the school was moved to the 32-acre site owned by the school district where the Triangle school was located. Other cost-saving measures, such as removing air conditioning from the plan and making the school slightly smaller would reduce the cost from the original $4.2 million to $3.7 million.

11 May 1971 Courier News

Moving the school and reducing the size drew an immediate negative response from the state Department of Education facility planning office. The state noted that even if an additional ten available acres adjacent to the lot was acquired by the district, the 42-acre site would still be smaller than the bare minimum of 47 acres required for the two schools. As noted by state consultant Dominic Chianese in his letter to the board:

"[T]wo schools on a single site of 42 acres is very restrictive in terms of future educational planning. A desirable site size would be 50-100 percent greater than the proposed minimum for the schools."

Deficiencies were also found in the size of instrumental and vocal music rooms, science rooms, and the gymnasium. In the event, David Noonan, superintendent of Hillsborough schools, was able to convince Chianese that the district was in a dire space situation, had already suffered a defeat at the polls and that no educational compromises would be made in the building.

30 June 1971 Courier News

The June 29, 1971, referendum received support from the Jaycees and three of the five township committeemen, but was opposed by the Hillsborough Taxpayers Association, whose spokesman Joseph Hagarty had this to say after the referendum was defeated - this time by a better than three to one margin:

"The public has decided what they want. They have made it plain that the board should look at alternatives for the school space problems. The next move is up to the board. They are well aware that there are alternatives and where to look for them."

Would the board look for alternatives? Stay tuned for Part 3 next week.