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Piscataway superintendent flags facilities needs, says major renovations likely require referendum
Summary
Parents raised concerns about aging school buildings and failing ceilings; Superintendent Glover said urgent repairs will be handled promptly but larger modernization will likely require a referendum and long-range plan tied to district fiscal capacity.
Parents asked about building conditions, including a reported failing ceiling at one school; Superintendent Erskine R. Glover said district buildings have received periodic renovations but some older facilities will need more extensive modernization.
Glover said the school in question is one of the district's older buildings and that routine and urgent repairs (for example, failing ceilings or roof issues) will be fixed without waiting for a referendum. He added that larger modernization across multiple schools would likely require a significant referendum because of the fiscal strain of major construction.
"To do all the things that need to happen in all of our schools... we would have to go to some type of significant referendum to make the significant major changes," Glover said, while also noting the district has completed upgrades in recent years "without any debt to the district." He encouraged parents to email specific concerns and said the district will prioritize urgent safety repairs.
Community member Ralph Johnson also offered conditional local support, pledging up to $500 toward basketball-court repairs if students lead documentation of the need and meet with the principal.
Glover said the district will include long-range facility planning in state-required submissions and balance fiscal constraints with the goal of maintaining operational excellence.
