By Peter Elacqua
Staff Writer
MARLBORO – The Marlboro K-8 School District Board of Education will place a $26.3 million referendum in front of voters on Nov. 8.
If the referendum is approved by a simple majority, infrastructure upgrades will be completed at six of the district’s eight schools.
Administrators have said the multi-million dollar cost of the work cannot be accounted for in the district’s regular operating budget and must be the subject of a special referendum.
“The capital requirements we have cannot be addressed in a timely manner through our annual budget,” Superintendent of Schools Eric Hibbs said. “Despite consistent maintenance, our systems are old. It is increasingly difficult to maintain our systems because outdated parts are no longer available.”
Administrators said if the referendum is approved, the school district will receive 40 percent of the total cost in state debt service aid ($10.52 million) and leave $15.78 million to be paid by Marlboro’s property owners.
According to the proposal for the capital improvements:
• $6.16 million would be allocated for work at the Marlboro Middle School.
• $4.9 million would be allocated for work at the Asher Holmes Elementary School.
• $4.73 million would be allocated for work at the Marlboro Elementary School.
• $3.97 million would be allocated for work at the Robertsville Elementary School.
• $3.93 million would be allocated for work at the Frank Defino Central Elementary School.
• $2.61 million would be allocated for work at the Frank J. Dugan Elementary School.
No projects are proposed at the Marlboro Memorial Middle School or at the David C. Abbott Early Learning Center.
The scope of the project is expected to include windows, fire alarm systems, temperature control panels, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, electrical boards, feeders, boilers, pumps, switchboards and electric generators, according to district administrators.
In terms of the cost of the referendum to property owners, administrators said the owner of a home that is assessed at the township average of $490,000 currently pays $320 per year toward the school district’s debt and that is expected to remain the same until July 2019.
If the capital improvements referendum is approved by voters, then in July 2020, because of the retirement of old debt, the owner of a home that is assessed at the township average will begin paying $90 per year toward the school district’s debt – which represents an annual savings of $230 from the current debt payment portion of the school tax bill, according to district administrators.
