By CHRISTIAN MANAHAN
Staff Writer

EGG HARBOR CITY – In addition to improving learning conditions for the city’s elementary and middle school students, approval of the Dec. 11 referendum to build a replacement for the Fanny D. Rittenberg Middle School and make improvements to the Charles L. Spragg Elementary School would be good for business, according to an informal survey of local entrepreneurs.
Several Philadelphia Avenue business owners interviewed by The Current said they would like to see the referendum pass. In a city starving for growth, local business owners seem optimistic that passage of the $27 million project combined with the recently approved $81 million third high school for the Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School district would help their businesses thrive.
They all agreed that one of the things people consider when deciding to move to a community is the quality of its school system.
 “If you have good schools you will have people,” said Toni Baxter, city resident and owner of the Almost Heaven gift shop. “A good education is the first thing people look for in a community.”
Carmen DeFeo, a city resident and owner of Al’s Luncheon, agrees.
“[New schools] would bring in a lot of activity,” said DeFeo. “All the other towns have nice, new schools. We are stuck in a time warp here.”
With better schools, more customers are expected to follow.
“It will bring in new development, homes, and families will want to move in,” said Joe Manzoni, owner of the recently opened French Country Corner. “The downtown district will thrive.”
If anything, Manzoni said, two new educational facilities in the city would at least help justify the amount he pays in taxes.
Scott Senn, a city resident who works alongside his father for the family owned George Senn Company Inc. plumbers, expects the schools to be a catalyst for growth in the city.
“Talk to anyone who has kids, they will inevitably tell you that the quality of a school is a major factor in their decision [to move into a community],” he said.
If the referendum passes Dec. 11, the 60,000-square-foot, two-floor middle school would be constructed on a 10-acre lot with the front facing Havana Avenue and the back facing New Orleans Avenue, between Duerer and Diesterwig streets.
The Spragg School would have three general classrooms added along with one small group instruction classroom. Expansion of the library/media center would occur as well.
The project is expected to cost $27 million, with $24.2 million going toward the construction of the middle school. The state is expected to fund 67 percent of the project’s cost, resulting in approximately a $9 million share for the city.
A separate referendum passed by voters in the Greater Egg Harbor Regional School District Sept. 25 allocates $27. 4 million from local taxpayers toward the total cost of a new $81.7 million high school in Egg Harbor City. The balance of the cost will be funded by the state.
Students from Egg Harbor City, Mullica Township, Port Republic and Washington Township will attend the new high school.