By Frank Mustac, Special Writer
The date for a $35 million-plus school bond referendum has been set. It will be Tuesday, Sept. 27.
If voters in Hopewell, Pennington and Hopewell Township pass the spending measure, the bond would fund repair work, construction and other capital improvements at several schools in the district.
Prior to the approval at the Feb. 22 meeting of the Hopewell Valley Regional School District Board of Education, Superintendent Thomas Smith talked about the proposed improvement projects and about how the bond would be paid back. He also described the school bond in detail at board meetings Jan. 11 and Feb. 8.
“This is a very important night for the district moving forward,” Dr. Smith said. “A number of things are lining up which makes it a very sensible time to address the challenges that have been facing the (school) district.”
The superintendent explained that a number of positive financial factors, including favorable interest rates, are lining up in 2016 making it a sensible time to address infrastructure challenges in the school district.
Also, because a percentage of the bond would be paid off by the state through a program called debt service aid, local property taxpayers would only have to finance about $23.6 million of the bond repayment. The program is part of the Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act passed in 2000.
“Our community has the opportunity to take advantage of the 40-percent contribution from the state,” Superintendent Smith said.
Board of Education President Lisa Wolff said that although approval from the board to hold the special election was unanimous, there had been some disagreement among members about the bond referendum.
“As Roy Dollard noted, the board has undertaken a long, and occasionally contentious, process to reach consensus,” Ms. Wolff said, referring to a school board member who was originally opposed to an aspect of the initiative. “I feel more confident that after such a thorough vetting, the end result is stronger from including input from our board, administration and members of the public.”
Mr. Dollard did not attend on Feb. 22, but at the Feb. 11 meeting he talked about his initial opposition to including the construction of a 10,500-square-foot “Arts and Wellness space” addition to Hopewell Valley Central High School.
“I had been the primary objector,” Mr. Dollard said.
The major components of the addition, estimated to cost $5.2 million, are a new gymnasium primarily for physical education classes, and a room called a black box theater for students enrolled in performing arts courses.Mr. Dollard explained that he changed his mind about the Arts and Wellness addition after hearing arguments why the multipurpose structure is necessary to alleviate space and scheduling challenges at the high school.
“The board is in 100-percent mode in terms of approval of what the administration is suggesting, because these are things that need doing,” Mr. Dollard said on Feb. 11.
Among the other proposed capital improvement projects is more than $7 million worth of roofing that needs to be replaced, plus work on heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, especially at the high school and middle school.
Old and inefficient windows and doors need to be maintained or replaced. There are also plans for upgrades to fire alarms and intercoms at all the schools, and renovations to playgrounds, restrooms and media centers.
At the high school, installation of new ceilings and energy-efficient lighting are planned, along with renovations to the cafeteria. There are also designs to reconfigure the high school front entrance and offices.
“The new entrance will finally provide disability access and increase security by not only restricting overall building access through locking vestibules, but also allow visitors to get to a conference room or nurse’s office without entering the rest of the high school,” Board President Wolff said on Feb. 22.
