SCOTCH PLAINS-FANWOOD – The second time was a charm on Tuesday as voters in Scotch Plains and Fanwood approved two referendum questions that will allow the board of education to purchase a school building in Fanwood, make safety upgrades to all school buildings and provide funding for the annual costs of operating the new school.
The questions approved this week will authorize bonds totaling $45.6 million, $10.5 million of which will be earmarked to purchase a 35,000-square-foot building which will house all the school district’s pre-K classes and free up nine classrooms in four of the five elementary schools. By moving pre-K into one building, the elementary schools will be able to use the newly-open classrooms for art, music and Spanish classes or special services like OT/PT and ESL. The school district says this will ease the space crunch in the short term and help maintain class sizes. The cost of minor renovations to the new school building will be funded by the district’s capital reserve.
Another $34.2 million of the bond will go towards upgrades to the HVAC, electrical and fire-alarm systems in the district’s eight school buildings. Some of these expenses will be offset by $11.4 million in state aid.
The other ballot question that was approved authorizes $1.1 million in annual operating costs for the new school, via the district’s annual budget, to fund such functions as administration, nurse, secretaries, custodial staff, security officer and building and grounds personnel.
Unofficial tallies on Wednesday morning showed the first question being approved by a 3,090 to 2,402 vote margin (56 percent to 44 percent) and the second question being backed by a 2,968 to 2,526 margin (54 percent to 46 percent).
Cheers and applause erupted at the board of education offices on Tuesday night when Board President Evan Murray announced the results. He thanked the board and its supporters for “all your hard work” and called the ballot approvals “a tremendous accomplishment.”
Superintendent Joan Mast, Ed.D., told Union County HAWK that she appreciated “the support of the community” after “we listened to the feedback” following the failed vote last September. “I’m glad we were able to earn their support,” she said. She called it “a very happy day for kids in Scotch Plains and Fanwood.”
The twin approvals came four months after voters rejected an $81-million bond to finance the purchase, refurbishment and expansion of the First Children School building on South Avenue. A second referendum question for a $34 million bond to finance upgrades to the HVAC, electrical and fire-alarm systems in the district’s eight school buildings was approved but it had been stipulated in advance that the first question had to be approved in order for the second question to go forward.
According to the district’s website, voter approval of these bonds means that the owner of a home assessed at Scotch Plains’ average of $126,191 will pay an estimated $290 per year and the owner of a home assessed at Fanwood’s average of $469,385 will pay an estimated $250 per year.
