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P.O. Box 909 ● Trenton, NJ 08605-0909 ● Phone: 609.695.7600 ● Fax: 609.695.0413 ● Web: www.njsba.org/PI |
NEWS RELEASE CONTACT: Frank Belluscio (fbelluscio@njsba.org) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE School-construction proposals dwindle to one
Trenton, March 8, 2007 - In what is the slowest school bond referendum date in recent history, only one school district is asking voters to approve a school-construction proposal on Tuesday, the New Jersey School Boards Association reported today. Voters in the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District will decide two questions totaling $17.4 million to expand and renovate schools throughout the district. It is the sole school-construction proposal on Tuesday’s ballot statewide. A law that went into effect in late 2001 limits special school elections to five specific dates a year. Since that time, New Jersey has not seen a referendum date with only one school-construction proposal. “This may indicate reluctance on the part of school districts to move forward with school construction projects,” said Edwina M. Lee, executive director of the New Jersey School Boards Association. “There is a genuine concern that voters are not supporting projects that don’t come with up-front state grants, which had been available in past years. In addition, many school districts, in the face of additional tax caps and state budget restrictions, may have to struggle to meet the cost of maintaining and staffing new classrooms.” The Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act of 2000 appropriated $8.6 billion of state funds for school construction. Most of that amount went to the 31 special needs, or Abbott districts, but $2.6 billion funded at least 40 percent of what the state determined are eligible construction costs. The Facilities Act’s up-front cash grants have been depleted, and last year the state began meeting its 40-percent obligation through annual installments of “debt service aid” to school districts. The state’s debt service aid is funded through its annual budget. For local taxpayers, the up-front cash grants proved to be reliable funding, and they reduced the amount that the community had to borrow for school construction. Dissolution question In a non-construction question, the Central Regional school district in Ocean County is asking voters if they would approve of dissolving the school district. The five communities that make up the seventh- through 12th-grade district include Berkeley Township, Seaside Heights, Seaside Park, Island Heights and Ocean Gate. If voters approve the dissolution, Berkeley Township would acquire the Central Regional middle and high schools, and the Berkeley Board of Education would be in charge of running the district as a K-12 district. The four other districts in the system would not acquire any school grounds; they would either continue sending their students to the schools in Berkeley Township, or they would send their students to another school district. After the March 13 elections, the remaining dates include the Annual School Election on April 17, Sept. 25 and Dec. 11. The questions on Tuesday’s ballot include: SOMERSET COUNTYBridgewater-Raritan Regional Proposal 2 (contingent on passage of Proposal 1): Central Regional
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