Franklin Township Middle & High Schools (New Brunswick, Somerset: apartment complexes, house prices, to buy)

[savvyRookie]

Hello,

I am doing research on housing in the Franklin Township area. I'm a bit familiar with the South Brunswick area so my comparison is based on my experience with South Brunswick schools.

The house prices in Franklin Township are affordable to me. I really like the areas that are close to Route 27. But, I'm scared of the reputation and statistics of the High School. I've researched these forums and haven't found positive information about the high school.

I've also researched the NJSchoolsReportCard. The difference between South Brunswick and Franklin is staggering.

I was wondering if there are any folks out there whose kids have recently gone to the Franklin Township Middle or High Schools. Are the schools safe? What is the drug situation? How do these parents feel about the quality of education?

Are there any other recommendations that you can provide to truly gauge the situation of the Middle and High schools?

I would really appreciate your feedback.

Thanks

[TonyStarksNJ]

How old are your kids?

You're going to get two schools of thought on this subject. There is a faction of this board that will tell you to run away as fast as you can from Franklin Township, becuase of the socioeconomic issues of some of the kids there. I don't necessarily agree. Franklin gets a bad rap from the riff raff spill over from New Brunswick. Franklin/Franklin Park is a beautiful area, The middlebush, Amwell, side anyway. I know because I lived there for 2+ years. I looked at houses in Franklin when it was time to buy, but ultimately chose elsewhere.

It comes down to this, you can afford what you can afford. I would NOT stretch myself to buy a smaller/older/generally less desirable home in a neighboring community. You have to make that call.

Look at this way, it cant be all bad, there is a 33 page thread about a community a few posts above this one where folks are paying $500k/$600k for a home in this suburban oasis.

[annerk]

It wouldn't be my first choice if I had teens. The high school is definitely a little rough. Everyone I know in FP either moved before their kids finished elementary or went private.

There are nice parts of FP, but there are some pretty bad parts as well, particularly where it borders New Brunswick with some gang issues. It was unfortunately creeping south on 27, one of the reasons we sold our house in North Brunswick just on the county/township line.

[HubCityMadMan]

Originally Posted by annerk

It wouldn't be my first choice if I had teens. The high school is definitely a little rough. Everyone I know in FP either moved before their kids finished elementary or went private.

There are nice parts of FP, but there are some pretty bad parts as well, particularly where it borders New Brunswick with some gang issues. It was unfortunately creeping south on 27, one of the reasons we sold our house in North Brunswick just on the county/township line.

There were some shootings in a few of the apartment complexes on 27 just across the border from North Brunswick last year. I know at one time there were three in one night. The area along Hamilton St in Somerset is usually proclaimed the worst part, but it is also mad ugly along 27 across the border from New Brunswick too.

Not all of Franklin is bad. It covers a rather large territory. Franklin Park is generally one of the better areas. I think generally though that if you move there with children you want to consider private or parochial schools. If you need public educaion, it would probably be better to look in one of the Brunswicks instead.

[savvyRookie]

Thank you everyone for your insights.

I think I'll drop Franklin Township from my list of areas Kinda sad because the houses are quite in my budget. Oh well!

What's more important is the safety of the kids since they'll be spending most of their time in the schools.

Once again, I thanks everyone!

[RarValBoi]

Franklin Township is a great town, however the schools (particularly the high school) aren't that great. My parents were considering moving there but they chose nearby Bridgewater to raise me (and my siblings)