East Windsor board votes to keep fifth grade with middle school on combined campus, requires safeguards

The East Windsor Board of Education voted to keep fifth grade within the middle-school program on the proposed new combined middle/high campus, approving a motion that the fifth grade remain with grades 6–8 on the campus provided visible safeguards limit intermingling with high-school students. Fran made the motion and Heather seconded it; Norine recorded the lone opposition.

Board members and consultants spent the meeting reviewing CSG’s educational specifications and several layout scenarios. CSG consultant Jim explained state space standards and reimbursement implications, noting that a new-build versus a renovate-as-new comparison affects state reimbursement and program sizing. “You’re going to have to show a renovate-as-new analysis and, depending on the size and cost, the state may treat a new school differently,” Jim said during the discussion.

Much of the debate focused on practical design questions—cafeteria and kitchen arrangements, scheduling to separate lunch waves, and whether one kitchen with two serveries could support distinct middle- and high-school cafeterias. Consultants confirmed a common design is feasible: one kitchen with two serving lines and separate cafeteria spaces, which would require scheduling adjustments for lunch waves.

Several board members said parents have expressed concern about younger students sharing a campus with older teens. One member said she had spoken with more than a dozen local parents and heard “do not send my fifth grader to that school,” and urged the board not to finalize placement without public input. Proponents argued that keeping fifth grade with the middle school preserves academic and extracurricular opportunities and that architectural design can create separate entrances, circulation and secured areas to prevent unsupervised mingling.

Board members discussed public engagement options and timing. Given a looming grant submission deadline, staff recommended the board decide promptly and use a short, focused public forum or survey to explain the configuration and collect feedback. Jason (ad hoc/ex officio) advised a public forum or a short straw poll next week to give the board a benchmark of community sentiment while keeping the project on schedule.

After procedural discussion—members debated whether to include detailed conditions in the motion or to state safeguards in the public record—the board approved the motion to keep fifth grade with the middle school on the combined campus, with language noting visible safeguards to limit interaction between younger and older students. The motion passed with one recorded opposition (Norine). For the record, the board said it will proceed with architectural programming and schedule public outreach to explain separation measures and collect community feedback ahead of further design steps.

Next steps: the district’s architect will size spaces once the board’s placement decision is final, staff will pursue clarification from the state on how FFRC spaces count toward space standards, and the district will run targeted public engagement (forum or brief survey) prior to the next ad hoc facilities meeting to provide parents and community members more detail before the grant application timeline.