news release
news release
New Jersey School Boards Association, 413 West State Street, P.O. Box 909, Trenton, NJ 08605-0909
Telephone: (609) 278-5202 ● Fax: (609) 695-0413 ● Web site: www.njsba.org/PI
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Frank Belluscio (fbelluscio@njsba.org)
Mike Yaple (myaple@njsba.org)
(609) 278-5202
VOTERS APPROVE $416 MILLION IN SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION
TRENTON, October 1, 2003—Voters on Tuesday approved school construction projects in 22 of 25 New Jersey school districts, the New Jersey School Boards Association reported today. The amount of new construction authorized on Tuesday totaled $416.7 million.
"Voters continue to support their local schools, as demonstrated by the approval of new schools, additions and renovations during a difficult economic climate," said Edwina M. Lee, NJSBA's executive director. "So far in 2003, voters have approved more than 80% of school construction referenda—the highest rate since 1997, when the New Jersey School Boards Association began collecting data on bond referenda. That year, the passage rate for bond referenda was 52.7%."
Of the total amount approved Tuesday, $112.2 million will be funded with state grants through the Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act. Signed into law in July 2000, the act provides $8.6 billion in state funding for school construction and covers a minimum of 40% of state-determined eligible costs of voter-approved school construction projects. Before the act was signed, 240 school districts received no state funding for school construction and another 108 districts received a fourth or less of construction costs from the state.
Statewide, construction financing on Tuesday’s ballot is divided between state and local sources as follows:
Total project costs — $416,748,634.62 ($527,625,332.62 proposed)
State grants — $112,203,304 ($126,089,309)
Locally financed bonds — $303,545,636.62 $400,536,329.62 proposed)
Other local funds — $999,694 ($999,694 proposed)
[Click here for descriptions of the 25 school construction proposals on Tuesday's ballot.]
School construction referenda are limited to five dates a year. They include the final Tuesday in September, the second Tuesday in December, the fourth Tuesday in January, the second Tuesday in March, and the Annual School Election on the third Tuesday in April.
The amount of spending that voters have approved so far in 2003 is $981.4 million.
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The
New Jersey School Boards Association is a federation of more than 600 local
boards of education. Established
more than 80 years ago, NJSBA represents the education and related health and
safety interests of New Jersey's 1.3 million public school students and
advocates the positions of the state's local school districts. The Association also provides inservice training and
technical assistance to the state's 4,800 local board of education members.
School board members, who serve without compensation, are the largest
group of elected and appointed public officials in the state.
NEW JERSEY SCHOOL BOND ELECTION RESULTS
SEPTEMBER 30, 2003
New Jersey School Boards Association
BERGEN COUNTY
Closter — Proposal 1 PASSED; Proposal 2 FAILED
Proposal 1: Addition and renovations to two schools.
$6,024,250 -- total
$1,423,560 -- state
$4,600,690 -- locally financed bonds
Proposal 2: Construction of a multipurpose room addition to an elementary school (Requires approval of Proposal 1)
$1,650,000 -- total
$373,516 -- state
$1,276,484 -- locally financed bonds
Dumont — Proposal 1 PASSED; Proposal 2 FAILED
Proposal 1: Additions and renovations to five schools.
$26,420,000 -- total
$8,169,399 -- state
$18,250,601 -- locally financed bonds
Proposal 2: Renovations to three schools including windows, HVAC, industrial arts, lockers and athletic fields (Requires approval of Proposal 1)
$7,260,000 -- total
$1,179,627 -- state
$6,080,373 -- locally financed bonds
Haworth — PASSED
Addition and renovations to Haworth Public School; purchase of land.
$3,172,756 -- total
$490,335 -- state
$2,682,421 -- locally financed bonds
Ho-Ho-Kus — PASSED (both questions)
Proposal 1: Additions and renovations to the K-8 school, including science and technology labs, media center expansion, boiler replacement, electrical upgrades.
$12,292,000 -- total
$3,340,344 -- state
$8,951,656 -- locally financed bonds
Proposal 2: Install air conditioning in the K-8 school (Requires approval of Proposal 1)
$270,000 -- total
$108,000 -- state
$162,000 -- locally financed bonds
River Dell Regional — PASSED
Addition and renovations to the middle and high school; reconstruction of athletic fields at the high school.
$28,950,000 -- total
$6,967,392 -- state
$21,982,608 -- locally financed bonds
Ramsey — PASSED
Additions and renovations to four schools.
$29,197,520 -- total
$5,763,295 -- state
$23,434,225 -- locally financed bonds
Woodcliff Lake — PASSED (both questions)
Proposal 1: Addition and renovations to middle school, including gym and classrooms; renovations to Dorchester Elementary School.
$8,993,000 -- total
$1,942,605 -- state
$7,050,395 -- locally financed bonds
Proposal 2: Addition and renovation to Dorchester Elementary School (Requires approval of Proposal 1)
$4,109,000 -- total
$1,145,278 -- state
$2,963,722 -- locally financed bonds
BURLINGTON COUNTY
Burlington City — PASSED
Construction of auditorium at Wilbur Watts Intermediate School; renovations and upgrades to high school athletic complex.
$3,288,694 -- total
$499,694 -- transfer from capital reserve account
$2,789,000 -- locally financed bonds
Delran Township — FAILED (both questions)
Proposal 1: Additions and renovations to high, middle and intermediate schools.
$26,189,331 -- total
$26,189,331 -- locally financed bonds
(District opted to receive its money through $5,226,465 in debt service aid over 20 years, rather than through an up-front state grant, if the question had been approved. That amount was not included in the total of proposed state grants.)
Proposal 2: Install air conditioning in two schools (Requires approval of Proposal 1)
$4,403,324 -- total
$0 -- state
$4,403,324 -- locally financed bonds
Moorestown Township — PASSED
Additions and renovations to high school; land acquisition; renovations to four other schools.
$38,080,136 -- total
$8,978,276 -- state
$29,101,860 -- locally financed bonds
Mount Laurel Township — PASSED
Renovations to 10 district buildings, including security systems, telecommunications, electrical, HVAC, windows and floors.
$27,054,393.40 -- total
$9,965,414 -- state
$17,088,979.40 -- locally financed bonds
CAMDEN COUNTY
Mount Ephraim — PASSED
Renovations and additions to two schools.
$9,434,429 -- total
$2,480,247 -- state
$6,954,182 -- locally financed bonds
CUMBERLAND COUNTY
Fairfield Township — PASSED
Renovations and additions to two schools.
$15,505,245 -- total
$10,023,347 -- state
$500,000 -- transfer from capital reserve account
$4,981,898 -- locally financed bonds
GLOUCESTER COUNTY
Kingsway Regional — PASSED
Acquire land for and construct a new middle school; renovations to the high school.
$24,817,305 -- total
$7,903,286 -- state
$16,914,019 -- locally financed bonds
Wenonah — PASSED
Renovations and additions to the Wenonah Elementary School.
$3,899,011 -- total
$1,162,834 -- state
$2,736,177 -- locally financed bonds
HUNTERDON COUNTY
Clinton Township — PASSED
Acquire land and construct a new middle school; renovations to existing schools.
$39,522,182.48 -- total
$7,262,867 -- state
$32,259,315.48 -- locally financed bonds
Delaware Valley Regional — PASSED
Renovations and additions to the high school.
$9,809,342 -- total
$3,089,693 -- state
$6,719,649 -- locally financed bonds
Tewksbury — PASSED
Additional funds required to proceed with a new school project that voters approved in September 2000.
$1,200,000 -- total
$0 -- state
$1,200,000 -- locally financed bonds
MONMOUTH COUNTY
Manalapan-Englishtown Regional — PASSED
Additions and renovations to an elementary and middle school; renovations to four other elementary schools.
$48,826,316 -- total
$14,326,316 -- state
$34,500,000 -- locally financed bonds
Millstone Township — FAILED
Construct a new middle school; addition and renovations to the existing middle school; renovations to the elementary school; and build a transportation facility.
$46,518,647 -- total
$6,618,647 -- state
$39,900,000 -- locally financed bonds
West Long Branch — PASSED (both questions)
Proposal 1: Construct a connecting building between two schools to house media center, computer labs and classrooms; renovations to a second school.
$7,645,999 -- total
$2,107,537 -- state
$5,538,462 -- locally financed bonds
Proposal 2: Refinancing of an outstanding 1994 lease-purchase.
MORRIS COUNTY
Mountain Lakes — PASSED
Renovations and an addition to the Mountain Lakes High School.
$15,609,596.74 -- total
$4,689,404 -- state
$10,920,192.74 - locally financed bonds
SALEM COUNTY
Upper Pittsgrove Township — PASSED
Repair and renovate the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system at Upper Pittsgrove Elementary School.
$1,314,126 -- total
$688,183 -- state
$625,943 -- locally financed bonds
SOMERSET COUNTY
Somerset Hills Regional — PASSED
Construct expansion and renovate the elementary school, middle school and the high school.
$51,313,333 -- total
$10,175, 692 -- state
$41,137,641 -- locally financed bonds
SUSSEX COUNTY
Sparta Township — FAILED
Construct a new elementary school and additions and alterations to Sparta High School.
$24,855,396 -- total
$5,714,215 -- state
$19,141,181 -- locally financed bonds