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CONTACT:        Frank Belluscio (fbelluscio@njsba.org)                                                     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                        Mike Yaple (myaple@njsba.org)
                        (609) 278-5202

Voters Approve $35 Million in School Construction

TRENTON, March 15, 2006—Voters in three out of four school districts approved school-construction referendums totaling $35.6 million on Tuesday, the New Jersey School Boards Association reported today.

A 2001 state law limits special school elections to five specific dates a year. The four proposals on Tuesday represented the smallest number of school-bond referendums held on a single day since the law was enacted.

More than $13 million of the approved construction is eligible for state funds under the Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act of 2000. The EFCA legislation appropriated $6 billion to fund 100% of school construction in the special needs, or Abbott districts; and another $2.6 billion for grants to fund a minimum of 40% of state-determined ‘eligible’ construction in all other districts. Because the grant funding has been fully allocated, the state’s 40% share would need to be funded through annual installments of debt-service aid, which is authorized by the Legislature in the annual state budget.

The next date that a school board can put a bond referendum before voters is the Annual School Election on April 18, when voters also act on school districts’ operating budgets and select school board members. Results of the four proposals on Tuesday’s ballot follow.

New Jersey School Construction Referendum Results
Tuesday, March 14, 2006

STATEWIDE
Total amount approved: $35,618,846 ($45,207,244 proposed)
Amount eligible for state grant or debt service aid: $13,299,292 ($16,627,282 proposed)

BURLINGTON COUNTY
Edgewater Park—Approved
Renovations to the Mildred Magowan Elementary School and Samuel M. Ridgway Middle School.
Total amount requested: $2,336,035
Amount eligible for state grant or debt service aid: $934,414

Palmyra—Approved
Roof repair and replacement at the Palmyra High School, Charles Street School and Delaware Avenue School; and repairs to the Palmyra High School Stadium Complex
Total amount requested: $3,487,823
Amount eligible for state grant or debt service aid: $681,380

CAMDEN COUNTY
Berlin Township—Rejected
Additions and renovations to the John F. Kennedy Elementary School and Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School.
Total amount requested: $9,588,398 Amount eligible for state grant or debt service aid: $3,327,990

MONMOUTH COUNTY
Eatontown—Approved
Renovations to the Memorial Middle School, Woodmere School, Meadowbrook School and Vetter School
Total amount requested: $29,794,988
Amount eligible for state grant or debt service aid: $11,683,498

The New Jersey School Boards Association, a federation of district boards of education, advocates the interests of school districts, trains local school board members, and provides resources for the advancement of public education.