Special school referendums tomorrow in 10 N.J. municipalities

Voters in ten New Jersey municipalities will go to the polls on Tuesday to decide whether to approve or reject school construction projects, including a controversial $241 million proposal to build a new high school in Hoboken.

Local school districts multiple windows to obtain authorization from voters on improvement projects, sometimes a necessary ingredient for the state to fund at least 40% of eligible projects though help with annual debt service.

Tomorrow’s special school elections will be held in: Franklin Lakes and Cresskill in Bergen; Westampton in Burlington; Lindenwold in Camden; Lower Cape May Regional in Cape May; Clinton-Glen Gardner in Hunterdon; Princeton in Mercer; Mendham in Morris; and Manville in Somerset.   Only Hoboken has no state dollars involved.

Hoboken wants to construct a new, four-story high school on the site of the John F. Kennedy stadium that would include a swimming pool, ice hockey rink and a rooftop football field.  The current high school would be converted into a middle school.

While Hoboken is 66% white, according to the 2020 U.S. Census, about 85% of the public school population are students of color, with many families opt for private or charter schools.  Some local officials believe a state-of-the-art high school might be a draw to higher income Hoboken residents.

Mayor Ravi Bhalla has endorsed the plan, but a grassroots group, the Hoboken High School Concerned Citizens Information Exchange, is working to defeat the referendum.  Opponents claim the January cold weather election is meant to deter senior citizens who might be most likely to deter the measure from voting.

School officials last week pushed back on claims that the bond issue would result in a 20% increase in property taxes, saying the number would be about 6%.  They also denied claims that enrollment at the high school in declining.

Among the opponents on the Hoboken referendum is Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher, who said she started out as a supporter.

“I based my decision on what I learned to be the shortfalls of the proposal itself and knowing that if this proposal didn’t pass, we could work together as a community to create a better plan that supported the best education for our students at a more reasonable cost to and better fit for our entire community,” Fisher said. “The idea being proffered that voting yes is the only acceptable choice by the same people who only gave us one choice, is autocratic and, quite frankly, offensive.”

The other projects range from $985,000 in Clinton-Glen Gardner to $33.2 million in Lindenwold.

Referendums can be held on the date of the regular school board election, either in April or November, depending on when the municipality elects Board of Education members – or special school board elections can be scheduled.

State law allows school districts to schedule a special referendum four times a year: on the fourth Tuesday in January, the second Tuesday in March, the last Tuesday in September or the second Tuesday in December.   In 2021, those elections will be on January 24, March 8, September 27, and December 13.