Vote on school Tuesday Allamuchy school district hopes for go-ahead to purchase, renovate Villa Madonna infirmary. Monday, January 22, 2007 • BY LYNN OLANOFF • The Express-Times ALLAMUCHY TWP. | Township voters will decide Tuesday whether to spend $9.4 million to turn part of the historic Villa Madonna property into a new school. The proposal up for approval would allow the villa's infirmary to be renovated and expanded to serve as a school for three or four grades. School district officials say the project is the cheapest option to accommodate the current school's overcrowded population. The Johnsonburg Road school is already eight students above its 362-student capacity and another 150 to 200 new students are expected by September 2008. The school also houses the district's 50-pupil pre-kindergarten program. Expanding the existing school or building a new one are costlier options than renovating the Villa Madonna, school district officials said. The villa's 103-year-old mansion is expected to be leased to another educational institution to save even more money. "We're using an existing building -- we don't have to purchase steel, pour concrete. So all that makes it really the most cost effective," Superintendent Timothy Frederiks said. Purchasing the Villa Madonna and 12 surrounding acres will cost the district $2.2 million. Construction is the most expensive part of the $10.4 million project; the state is contributing about $1 million. Local taxpayers would foot the remaining $9.4 million bill, the amount that will be on Tuesday's ballot question. Annual payments would be about $55 per $100,000 of assessed home value for 25 years. The school project is part of a resolution to a lawsuit the property's owner has against the state over the Highlands region. The Congregation of the Daughters of Divine Charity sued the state last year after land was put in the Highlands preservation area, where development is severely restricted. The congregation is in negotiations with the state to buy the property's remaining 20 acres. The two parties have an agreement in principle. The state plans to annex the land to adjacent Allamuchy Mountain State Park. "Without the state's involvement, it would have been cost prohibitive for us," Allamuchy school board Vice President James Britt said. "We honestly believe the stars were aligned because what we were able to do through the Villa Madonna property is to acquire property that we wouldn't normally be able to purchase." The project is additionally beneficial because it preserves historic buildings and open space, Frederiks said. Polls are open 2 to 9 p.m. Tuesday. All Allamuchy Township residents can vote at the municipal building, 292 Alphano Road. Reporter Lynn Olanoff can be reached at 908-475-8044 or by e-mail at lolanoff@express-times.com. © 2006 The Express-Times. Used by NJ.com with permission.