By KAREN RAPOLLA
Staff Writer
SHREWSBURY – Borough residents voted no on Dec. 13 to all four questions on a multi-part, multi-million-dollar referendum for the district’s one school.
The results were as follows:
Question 1 525 yes 844 no
Question 2 309 yes 1,048 no
Question 3 348 yes 1,011 no
Question 4 248 yes 1,098 no
All four referendum questions were defeated. The residents are not going to authorize a sizable tax increase to foot the bill for the $28.1 million in repairs and expansion of the Shrewsbury Borough School, which is a pre-K-12 grade facility.
The school, which is located on Obre Place, currently has 492 students enrolled.
Officials had decided to break the project into four parts and voters had a chance to decide on each part. All four parts were defeated, with questions 2, 3 and 4 losing in a landslide.
Below were the four referendum questions:
First question – and was the most crucial, according to school officials – was on repairs to the school’s existing building. These included upgrades to the heating and air conditioning systems, a new roof, new windows, and renovations to the bathrooms. Estimated cost: $13.4 million.(Nothing passes if the first question fails)
Second question — voters were asked to approve an addition to the school, which would comprise a gymnasium, locker room, flexible classroom space and relocated offices. This portion of the project also includes work on existing space to create a dedicated cafeteria and auditorium space, and playground and parking renovations. Estimated cost: $11.2 million.
Third question — adding solar panels on the roof. The proposal calls for more than 1,200 panels that school officials estimate would save around $50,000 per year in electric costs. Estimated cost: $1.6 million.
Fourth question — approval to acquire the land adjacent to the school to facilitate the proposed expansion in the second question. If voters reject the land acquisition, the school could still expand on its current property. Estimated cost: $1.95 million.
All parts, with the exception of the fourth, would have qualified for a state aid contribution. Nevertheless, residents still would have seen an increase to local property taxes, which according to the district’s numbers, would have translated into a 13.94 cents increase per $100 of assessed property value.