The Becton Regional High School 2024 referendum expansion plan will be a watershed moment for the students and communities we serve and is a window into the educational issues affecting not only our New Jersey districts but education nationally.

The Becton Evolution project paves the way to create new programs that focus on advanced sciences, AI technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics, known as STEAM fields, as well as integrating programs in architecture, automation, trades, and cyber security, to name a few. These types of career-oriented specialized programs will prove to be effective in exposing students to the realistic demands of today’s workforce, while assisting them in developing critical 21st century creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, and communication skills that might not be addressed in their current classrooms.

The plan also provides for expansion to special education programs that will allow students from the community who have historically been educated out of the district to return home to high quality comprehensive special education programming, and, most importantly, be part of their school community.

Giving ALL students the opportunity should be a moral and ethical obligation for all of us, while keeping those tuition dollars home as most of us begin to reach the fiscal cliff, is a tremendous benefit to every student in the district, as well as our taxpayers.

Over time, our new facility has the potential to offer dozens of students whose out- of-district tuition now totals over $6 million/year between the Regional districts, the chance to stay home with all other 850 of their peers – and over time, most of them will.

This new vision for education also includes the development of high impact vocational and trades programs, which have been neglected in public education for generations and has led to tremendous labor shortages around the country. Vocational and trades hands-on training have all but disappeared from our traditional public schools – and those careers pay well and are in high demand. Included in the plan is an increased focus on the culinary arts, where students will have the use of a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen, feeding the community, and training alongside award winning chefs.

We approached planning the Becton Evolution not only by directly addressing the unique needs of our community and circumstances, but our overlay has a much bigger picture: if we and other districts continue to press for only college-prep prescriptions and standardized test-driven education, we are ignoring the economic and lifestyle and career development issues that surround us. We cannot be getting a clearer signal, with the increasing cost of college tuition and the sometimes minimal return on the educational investment, the Becton program is not a luxury addition, it is a necessary evolution that stops waste and enhances relevance. Of course we should never lose sight of the obligation we have to prepare every student for the future of their choice, which for many will include college; but we also must recognize that in creating a well-rounded education, we have to facilitate a broad range of career choices and supportive programs addressing the needs of all the children in our care.

Finally, as educators operating within a fiscal construct that squeezes available funding, every district in the country is challenged to “find a way to do it for less” and we simply cannot live with just giving students the status quo. We have a duty to be responsive to the community and provide a return on investment, but you cannot build a stool on two legs. In our case, to create a platform for the next 50 years means addressing these issues comprehensively.

The $49 million bond proposal ($12-21 per average household), is broken down into a three bond proposal questions that encompass a comprehensive approach to address critical needs within the school infrastructure including just over $29 million for advances in STEM, partial trades programs, and special education offerings, an over $12 million option for a new gymnasium and facility enhancements and a $7 million question for a full expansion of trades and vocational program space.

We have clear direction from three communities we serve based on a value system that consistently puts opportunities we provide for the children first – including double and triple digit growth factors we have realized the past three years with the historic merger. Now it is up to the voters, here, and our society nationally, to support the futures of children who ALL deserve the best we can give them. Your Vote is Your Voice for our Children….and it MATTERS!

Don’t forget to Vote TODAY, March 12, 2024 between 2p.m. and 8p.m. for the future of BECTON REGIONAL WILDCAT education.

Please click here for THE EVOLUTION OF BECTON REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL video.

CLICK HERE for a 6 minute Powerful Recap of the Entire Visionary Project.

Please visit www.bectonevolution.com for your polling location and more information.