School bond referendums produce mixed results across New Jersey

New Jersey voters delivered mixed verdicts on school construction referendums Tuesday, approving major bond proposals in Cedar Grove and the Morris School District while rejecting measures in Clementon and Roselle. Cinnaminson’s $57.7 million bond appeared headed for defeat by just 23 votes.

Cedar Grove voters approved a $62 million ballot initiative to repair aging infrastructure at four schools and reopen the Leonard R. Parks School – closed since the early 1990s — to relieve overcrowding.   They approved the improvements question by a massive 73%-27% margin, and the school reopening question, 68%-32%.

In Cinnaminson, a $57.7 million bond referendum to ease overcrowding and upgrade all five public schools appears to have been rejected by 23 votes, 50.35% to 49.65%.   A second question, to spend an additional $18.3 million, lost 56%-44%.   It’s unclear how many provisional ballots and late-arriving vote-by-mail ballots need to be counted.

Voters in Clementon rejected a $ 13.5 million bond for an early childhood center by a 62%-38% margin.

In Deerfield, voters passed a $2 million school improvements bond with 68% of the vote.

The Morris School District, which includes voters in Morristown and Morris Township, approved a $158.4 million school improvement bond issue by a huge margin, 74%-26%.

Roselle voters rejected a bond proposal to spend $79.7 million to build a new school for Pre-K through second grade by a 55%-45% margin.  A second referendum, a $7.4 million school improvement plan, could not pass without the first question being approved; voters appear to have rejected it anyway, by 17 votes, 50.83% to 49.17%.

The Educational Facilities and Construction and Financing Act of 2000 permits local school boards to get at least 40% of some school construction costs paid for by the state through annual debt service if voters approve the measure in a referendum.  New Jersey holds special school board elections in January, March, September, and December.

These elections are being held without clarity over the voter rolls and assurances from state officials that not a single noncitizen remains eligible to vote in today’s election.