The Freehold Regional High School District Board of Education will move forward with a $39.8 million facilities improvement referendum that will be placed before voters of the district’s eight sending municipalities on Oct. 2.
During a meeting on April 23, board members voted unanimously to place the referendum on the ballot in a special election. The project has four categories: Safety and Security; Modern Learning Environment; Athletic Facilities; and Infrastructure.
Administrators offered the following statement regarding the referendum and its financial impact on taxpayers in the district: “The timing for the referendum is ideal, as existing debt from the last referendum the district issued, the construction of Colts Neck High School 20 years ago, is expiring.
“As a result, these upgrades will have no negative tax impact on our community members, as the dollars saved from expiring debt will be reinvested into our facilities to cover the costs.
“If the FRHSD chose not to reinvest these funds into our buildings, taxpayers would see a 3 percent reduction in the overall tax levy. With the reinvestment into new bonds, taxpayers will see a 1 percent decrease,” district administrators said.
According to the board, the Safety and Security initiative will address security vestibules, door lock upgrades and improvements to school public address systems. Upgrades are proposed at each of the district’s six high schools. The budget for the work is approximately $5 million.
The Modern Learning Environment initiative proposes the construction of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) classrooms at each school, auditorium renovations at Freehold High School, and media center renovations at Colts Neck High School. The budget for the work is approximately $10 million.
The Athletic Facilities initiative proposes renovations to the tennis courts and bleachers at each school, the installation of synthetic turf fields at Freehold Township High School, Manalapan High School and Marlboro High School, and resurfacing Colts Neck’s track. The budget for the work is approximately $14.2 million.
The Infrastructure initiative proposes repaving high traffic areas at all six schools, roofing work at each school (except Howell High School) and the installation of a new boiler at Marlboro. The budget for the work is approximately $10.4 million.
The referendum is a complete package and residents will not vote on the four individual initiatives. Administrators said if voters approve the referendum on Oct. 2, work on the security upgrades could begin that month.
Following the security upgrades, the next phase would be the construction of the STEM classrooms, work on two tennis courts, one turf field, several roofing and paving projects, bleacher renovations, and the replacement of the boiler at Marlboro, which is the building’s original boiler from the late 1960s. That work would occur during the summer of 2019.
The final phase would be the auditorium renovations at Freehold, the media center renovations at Colts Neck, the renovation of the remaining tennis courts, the installation of the remaining turf fields, the remaining roofing and paving projects, and the resurfacing of the Colts Neck track. That work would occur during the summer of 2020.
Superintendent of Schools Charles Sampson discussed the need for the referendum, saying, “As superintendent of schools, my charge here is (providing a) learning environment for our students for today and for tomorrow. We can say there is not any fluff in this referendum. We have been deliberate on this, and we have taken months to pull this together and to plan this.”
As to why administrators will place the referendum before voters during a special election on Oct. 2 and not on the day of the general election, Nov. 6, Sampson said, “We are not going to politicize the referendum and tangle it up with every local political issue across the board.
“As town councils and mayors are up for election, placing the referendum on the ballot with all of that will naturally politicize it as candidates will be asked to weigh in on it one way or the other.
“We are able, and our financial adviser has been clear, to receive better bond rates if there is an October (election) date rather than the November date. If you take the $39.8 million project, roll that out over 20 years and have a better interest rate, the savings would be more extreme over that 20-year period.”
“We want to go out to bid, get these projects moving and start working on security prior to the new year, especially so we can begin the two-year construction process that would take place during the summer. October puts that deadline very tight to get done for the new year,” Sampson said.
The school district’s eight sending municipalities are Colts Neck, Englishtown, Farmingdale, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Howell, Manalapan and Marlboro.