Long Beach Island Voters Nix $18.4 Million School Referendum By 2 To 1 Margin

The president of the Long Beach Island Consolidated Board of Education said district officials will try again after voters Tuesday turned down an $18.4 million referendum for an addition and improvements to the Ethel A. Jacobsen School.

The district will do a better job next time and "there will be a next time," Board President James Donahower told The Sandpaper.

The first part of the referendum asked voters if they wanted to spend $14.6 million to expand the Ethel A. Jacobsen Elementary School in Surf City. The expansion would have included eight new classrooms, an art room student services offices and a gymnasium, according to the the Ocean County Clerk's website.

District officials have been trying to close the Long Beach Island Grade School in Ship Bottom for several years and consolidate school services into one building.

The second part of the referendum asked voters if they wanted to spend $3.8 million to fund improvements to the Jacobsen building. The improvements would have included upgrading of the heating and air conditioning systems, replacement of aging ceilings, additional lighting and replacement of aging electrical panels.

The school district has five sending municipalities - Barnegat Light, Harvey Cedars, Long Beach Township, Ship Bottom and Surf City.

Voters in the five sending towns cast 1,116 no vote and 558 on the first question. The first question had to be approved in order for the district to move ahead with the second question. The second question was defeated by a vote of 1,083 to 544, according to the Ocean County Clerk's Office.

The district would have been eligible for $1.6 million in debt service aid, but only if the second question was approved.

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Image: Patch file photo.