Another Reason School Taxes are out of Control

Clinton Township voters had approved building a new middle school for $34.7 million in 2002. The school was scheduled to open in 2006, but now won't open till at least 2007 because of over regulation and either incompetence or fraud by a consultant on the project. It seems when the consultant applied for the permits for the project from the DEP he failed to mention that the site had an old farm house built in 1759 which was to be demolished to make a wider driveway. When the DEP learned about the demolition, according to the Star Ledger

"...the state Department of Environmental Protection withheld permits while the State Historic Preservation Office developed a plan to protect the structure.

Earlier this month, the DEP issued the last of the required permits, but attached a dozen conditions, said department spokeswoman Erin Phalon.

They include archaeological monitoring during the school construction; curating artifacts from the house; "mothballing" the building to ensure it is watertight, structurally stable and secure; and preparing a school lesson plan on the history of the site, she said."

There is no historical value to this house! The original owner of the house was a farmer that organized loyalists who fought for the British. But the real reason to save the house, according to James Turk of the State Museum is that the plaster in the house is a "remarkable treasure"

He also said "Without question, the Voght ceilings are of statewide and very likely national importance" And there is a plaster snake that curls down the center hall "appears to be unique and without precedent in the Mid-Atlantic region"

So the taxpayers of Clinton Township are going to be forced to preserve this building, at the cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars, because of a plaster snake. It's out of control!