In what has become a pattern in recent years, maintenance costs in the Mt. Laurel School District will remain low in the next two years.
As per state-mandated laws, the Mt. Laurel Board of Education released and approved a three-year comprehensive maintenance plan at last week’s meeting that details the work that will be done in the schools over the next two years.
Overall, the amount of money budgeted for building maintenance for the 2013–14 and 2014–15 school years is expected to be nearly the same as in 2012–13.
This school year, a total of $519,375 has been budgeted for maintenance, an increase of $632 from the previous year. The projected number for 2014–15 is $521,285.
These numbers in recent years are miniscule when compared to numbers from 2003–2009, officials said.
Much of the decrease in maintenance costs is the result of decreases in state funding and caps imposed on maintenance spending.
Director of Communications Marie Reynolds said these restrictions mean that much of the maintenance work budgeted by the district is just routine and necessary repairs.
The three-year plan did not include any major work, with a few upkeep and improvement items being performed in common areas of the schools.
Cafeteria repairs in Hartford, Harrington and Springville schools are basic upkeep projects where older equipment may be replaced.
“In some of these areas, there’s just the replacement of older items, such as the cafeteria tables,” Reynolds said.
In addition to cafeteria repairs, some other improvement projects will be undertaken in the school district. Harrington Middle School will have repairs done to improve the auditorium.
In the Hartford, Larchmont, Parkway and Springville schools, classroom paint jobs are scheduled to either begin or continue, with many of the projects being conducted in phases. Other repairs include classroom door, closet door and carpet replacement.
In other news:
• Superintendent Antoinette Rath congratulated the Harrington Middle School’s STEM program for receiving a school leader award at the New Jersey School Boards Association Conference in Atlantic City.
The board also accepted a $15,000 grant from the Sallie Mae Fund to support the STEM program.
Reynolds said the grant from the Sallie Mae Fund is crucial to funding the STEM program. The program’s big project has been creating underwater vehicles where students are able to retrieve items underwater.
• Rath said that the district is negotiating with Curtain Call to create a partnership for the schools’ spring and summer theater program.
The new program would be a continuation of the STEP program that has been a huge part of Mt. Laurel schools for many years.
Reynolds said that Curtain Call did a program at Hartford School last year and that it helped establish a relationship between the group and the school district.
After the original organizer of the STEP program retired, the school district wanted to keep its theater program growing.
“We wanted to make sure our kids still have an opportunity to participate in programs through the community education department,” Reynolds said.
The school district has not officially finalized a contract with Curtain Call.
