VOTE411 Voter Guide

BOND PROPOSAL QUESTIONThe Board of Education of the Morris School District, in the County of Morris, New Jersey is authorized: (a) to provide for renovations, alterations and improvements at Alexander Hamilton Elementary School, Alfred Vail Elementary School, Hillcrest Elementary School, Normandy Park Elementary School, Sussex Avenue Elementary School, Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, Woodland Elementary School, Frelinghuysen Middle School, Morristown High School and Lafayette Learning Center, and the construction of additions at Sussex Avenue Elementary School, Frelinghuysen Middle School and Morristown High School, including acquisition and installation of equipment, fixtures and furnishings, site work and related work and costs; (b) to appropriate $158,394,556 for such purposes and (c) to issue bonds of the school district in the principal amount of $158,394,556.The final eligible costs of the projects approved by the Commissioner of Education are $136,629,115 (with $13,267,020 allocated to Alexander Hamilton Elementary School, $12,457,228 allocated to Alfred Vail Elementary School, $7,305,715 allocated to Hillcrest Elementary School, $5,091,050 allocated to Normandy Park Elementary School, $15,371,594 allocated to Sussex Avenue Elementary School, $12,437,540 allocated to Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, $1,083,450 allocated to Woodland Elementary School, $24,099,015 allocated to Frelinghuysen Middle School, $34,076,320 allocated to Morristown High School and $11,440,183 allocated to Lafayette Learning Center). The projects include $450,450 allocated to Sussex Avenue Elementary School, $638,781 allocated to Frelinghuysen Middle School and $7,638,781 allocated to Morristown High School for elements in addition to the facilities 4898-6606-7628, v. 1 efficiency standards developed by the Commissioner of Education or not otherwise eligible for State support pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:7G-5(g). Under state law the district aid percentage as defined is zero percent, but the state share will be 40% of the annual debt service due with respect to the final eligible costs of the projects, contingent on annual state budget appropriations. The Board of Education is authorized to transfer funds among the projects approved at this election.Do you approve this bond proposal?INTERPRETIVE STATEMENTIf approved by the voters, the bond proposal will authorize the Board of Education to issue school bonds in an amount not to exceed $158,394,556 to fund school capital projects and to be able to receive school facilities aid to offset the school district’s costs. As required by law, the bond proposal discloses the district aid percentage and eligible project costs determined by the New Jersey Department of Education in project approval letters. District aid percentage is a term defined in law, and the reference to 40% in the proposal is not the State share of the project costs. The district aid percentage and eligible project costs are used by the State as part of a formula to distribute school facilities aid to help pay principal and interest due on the school bonds each year. The percentage of principal and interest the school district receives each year as school facilities aid from the State also depends on the amount the State legislature appropriates in the annual state budget to pay the school facilities aid due each year for all eligible New Jersey school districts. The funds raised by the issuance of the bonds will be used by the school district to implement the projects. The total cost of all the projects cannot exceed the amount authorized to be spent.Pros:This referendum will present the community with an opportunity to secure state aid, enhance the infrastructure of the district’s 10 schools, and create modern learning environments that meet the community’s educational standards.If voters approve the bond referendum, the state will pay $46.4 million toward the total project costs.Proposed projects totaling $158.4 million include infrastructure improvements such as roofing and window replacements, electrical upgrades, and district-wide HVAC projects to provide air conditioning in all spaces. Additionally, the referendum would fund an eight-classroom addition at Frelinghuysen Middle School and a three-classroom addition at Sussex Avenue Elementary School to address critical space needs at both schools.Other projects include the modernization of science labs, media centers, and performing arts spaces at both the high school and middle school levels, as well as a necessary replacement of the Morristown High School pool and an expansion of the high school cafeteria.Cons:If voters approve the referendum, Morristown residents could expect to see an estimated increase of approximately $38 per month in school debt tax for a home assessed at the average ($635,443). Morris Township residents could expect to see an estimated increase of approximately $41 per month in school debt tax for a home assessed at the average ($560,500).