The Freehold Regional High School District Board of Education will seek approval of a $39.8 million facilities improvement referendum that will be placed before voters of the district’s eight sending municipalities on Oct. 2.
The special election will be held from 4-8 p.m. in Colts Neck, Englishtown, Farmingdale, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Howell, Manalapan and Marlboro.
The referendum will seek authorization to undertake alterations, renovations and improvements at the district’s six high schools. The project has four categories: Safety and Security; Modern Learning Environment; Athletic Facilities; and Infrastructure.
District administrators reported that taxes will decrease regardless of whether the referendum passes or fails. If the referendum passes, taxpayers in all eight municipalities will see a 1 percent decrease. If the referendum fails, taxpayers will see a 3 percent decrease.
The decrease in taxes is a result of the debt from the construction of Colts Neck High School being paid off this year, according to the board.
“With the debt that was taken out to build Colts Neck High School 20 years ago now paid off, we felt it was the right time to issue these bonds in order to pay for necessary infrastructure such as boilers, paving, roofing, athletic facilities and security enhancements,” board President Michael Messinger said.
“Most of our annual budget goes toward curriculum and instruction. We would never have enough money to pay for these upgrades from the annual budget so we have decided to ask for taxpayer approval to take on new debt,” he said.
“Even with this new debt, there will still be tax relief resulting from the Colts Neck bonds maturing. Instead of giving the entire savings in the form of tax relief, we wanted to take a portion in order to provide our students with facilities that are necessary to enhance the student experience.
“The board continues our focus on the taxpayers and we are not going to authorize any spending that is not absolutely necessary. We fully realize that in New Jersey our property taxes continue to grow at a rate exceeding our incomes. This bond issue will allow us to maintain basic infrastructure and deliver some tax relief to taxpayers,” Messinger said.
During a board meeting on Sept. 12, Superintendent of Schools Charles Sampson said “it has been a long road” to bring the referendum proposal to fruition.
“This project has been years in the making. I think it is even more appropriate and needed given the other financial outlook (a pending reduction in school state aid) across the state. We are really proud to bring this referendum forth before our voters on Oct. 2,” he said.
Sampson said the initial indication from state officials was that 19 percent ($7.56 million) of the $39.8 million referendum would be paid by the state. He said the revised figure now indicates that 29 percent ($11.54 million) will be paid by the state.
Board member Carl Accettola thanked Sampson and Assistant Superintendent for Business Administration Sean Boyce for the work they did to develop the referendum and bring it before the district’s voters.
According to district administrators, the Safety and Security initiative will address security vestibules, door lock upgrades and improvements to school public address systems. Upgrades are proposed at each high school. The budget for the work is approximately $5 million.
The Modern Learning Environment initiative proposes the construction of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) classrooms at each high school, auditorium renovations at Freehold High School, and media center renovations at Colts Neck High School. The budget for the work is approximately $10 million.
The Athletic Facilities initiative proposes renovations to the tennis courts and bleachers at each high school, the installation of synthetic turf fields at Freehold Township High School, Manalapan High School and Marlboro High School, and resurfacing Colts Neck’s track. The budget for the work is approximately $14.2 million.
The Infrastructure initiative proposes repaving high-traffic areas at all six high schools, roofing work at each school (except Howell High School) and the installation of a new boiler at Marlboro. The budget for the work is approximately $10.4 million.
The referendum is a complete package and residents will not vote on the four individual initiatives. Administrators said the security upgrades would be the first work undertaken if the referendum is approved by voters.
Following the security upgrades, the next phase would be the construction of the STEM classrooms, work on two tennis courts, one turf field, several roofing and paving projects, bleacher renovations, and the replacement of the boiler at Marlboro, which is the building’s original boiler from the late 1960s. That work would occur during the summer of 2019.
The final phase would be the auditorium renovations at Freehold, the media center renovations at Colts Neck, the renovation of the remaining tennis courts, the installation of the remaining turf fields, the remaining roofing and paving projects, and the resurfacing of the Colts Neck track. That work would occur during the summer of 2020.
Managing Editor Mark Rosman contributed to this article.
