Voters to decide on three questions that total $18.8 million for improvements to and expansion of South Hunterdon High School.
By: Cynthia Williamson
WEST AMWELL Voters in South Hunterdon High School’s three sending districts will go to the polls Sept. 25 to decide an $18.8 million facilities upgrade and expansion referendum.
In Lambertville, the First and Second wards will vote at the Young Men’s Athletic Club, 65 Wilson St. The Third Ward will vote at the Columbia Fire Department, 177 N. Union St.
Voting in West Amwell will be held at the new municipal complex, 100 Rocktown-Lambertville Road.
In Stockton, voting will take place at the Stockton Fire Department on Mill Street.
Polling hours are 3 to 9 p.m. in all three municipalities.
The bond referendum to go to voters Tuesday will ask for approval to spend $11.1 million to "fix the building’s most basic problems" and build a new 14,800-square-foot addition at the westernmost end of the school to house new science laboratories, music rooms and a media center that would free up the current library for other uses.
The referendum also would give voters an option to approve additional expenditures: $3.9 million for a 510-seat auditorium/theater in Question 2 and/or $3.8 million for a new 600-seat gymnasium to be built adjacent to the current gymnasium in Question 3.
Questions 2 and 3 cannot pass if Question 1, the "base" question, is defeated.
Likewise, if the base $11.1 million question is defeated, the district also would lose $4.1 million in state funding with no guarantee the money would be restored in a future referendum.
The state’s $4.1 million contribution would offset taxpayers’ share to $14.6 million or a 22 percent reduction in the overall $18.8 million cost to upgrade and expand the facility.
If all three questions are approved, the tax increase for the average Lambertville homeowner would be $308 a year, compared to $334 in West Amwell and $215 in Stockton.
The district’s projected enrollment is expected to reach 508 students by 2004, which would exceed its current "functional capacity" by 129 students. There are 374 students enrolled in the district, which is five students below functional capacity. Functional capacity is calculated using a state formula to determine the number of students a school can hold and still conduct its programs.

