COLD SPRING – With only about 6% of the eligible voters casting ballots, the Lower Township Elementary School District received approval for its referendum question in a March 8 special election.
The referendum saw 836 voters approve and 263 disapprove of bonding for the district’s facilities improvement program. The program includes HVAC, electrical construction, and interior improvements in each of the district’s four schools.
The estimated expense for the work is $15.6 million, with the state paying 40% of the costs. The district put the increased tax burden at $41.64 per year on an average assessed home of $232,900. The district’s enrollment across all four schools in the 2021-2022 school year is 1,670 students.
Even with the 40% state share, the district must bond for the full amount to cover the work. The state debt service aid program will then contribute the state’s portion annually toward debt service payments.
Documents made available to the public before the voting also showed that the district is using $1.3 million in federal Covid relief funding in each of the four school building projects.
The vote on the referendum comes on the heels of a similar $13.9 million project approved by the voters of the Lower Cape May Regional School District in February. That project also takes advantage of the state debt service aid program and makes use of federal relief funds.
In that referendum, voters from the three municipalities that share in the regional system approved a project that calls for no increase in the school tax rate in any of the communities.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.
