By Matthew Sockol
Staff Writer
MILLSTONE – The Millstone Township K-8 School District Board of Education is moving forward with financing a project that will replace the roof on two of the district’s three schools.
On March 13, the board passed a resolution authorizing the sale of $2.6 million in bonds to finance a project to replace the roof on the Millstone Township Elementary School and on the Millstone Township Primary School.
According to the resolution, the bonds will be issued between 2019 and 2027. The board said $500,000 in bonds will be issued in 2019; $250,000 in bonds will be issued in each year from 2020-25; and $300,000 in bonds will be issued in each year from 2026-27.
District administrators said the total cost of the project will be $2.9 million, with $1.6 million budgeted for the primary school roof and $1.3 million budgeted for the elementary school roof.
In addition to the $2.6 million in bonds, the cost of the project will also be covered by the appropriation of $338,442 from the district’s capital reserve, according to district administrators.
The project to replace the roofs was approved by voters in a special election held in December.
After working with professionals for two years, district administrators determined that new roofs were necessary because the existing roofs are outdated and are leaking into the schools.
Most of the primary school’s roof is from 1994 and has exceeded its 20-year life expectancy, according to district administrators. The top layer of the roof’s membrane has decomposed due to rain and ultraviolet light and the joints of the roof have become vulnerable to decay over time.
The elementary school’s roof was built in stages during the 1950s, the 1980s and the 1990s. The top layer of the roof has decayed and exposed the underlying membrane to weather, according to district administrators.