$92.5M Bond Referendum Tuesday For Lacey Residents

LACEY, NJ — On Tuesday, March 11, Lacey Township residents have the chance to make their voices heard on whether or not the school district can move forward with $92.5 million worth of repairs and upgrades.

With voter permission, school districts can sell bonds to generate funds the same way a homeowner might use a home equity loan for improvements. Property taxes buy back the bonds with interest over time.

At the moment, the district's schools have waterlogged ceiling tiles, failing HVAC units and uneven flooring. Baseball games have to get canceled after rain because the fields don't have proper drainage. Cheerleaders are wearing long sleeves inside the gym and are still shaking because the heating doesn't work properly.

These reasons are why district officials are hoping voters approve the three questions on Tuesday's ballot. Read more: 4 Takeaways From $92.5M Bond Referendum Forum In Lacey

“Approval of Question 1 alone would allow the district to complete $30 million in improvements with no increase in taxes for the residents – that's an incredible amount of work that would support our students. If all 3 questions are approved, we are asking the community to consider $20 per month in exchange for $92.5 million in updates for our schools,” said William W. Zylinski, Acting Superintendent, Lacey Township School District. “Imagine what the updates could do to improve the learning environment our students spend hours in each day. Simply put, voting gives the community a voice in the future of our district.”

Ahead of the vote, the school district shared three reminders.

1. A referendum offers a strategic opportunity to complete multiple large-scale projects outside of the general fund budget using upfront funding and state aid.

The district’s general fund budget has been slashed by over $14 million in state funding in recent years. The impact from this budget hit has been tremendous, officials said.

The district has cut staff and programs, patched roofs instead of repairing or replacing them, and repaired outdated building systems instead of replacing them. Replacement parts are costly and getting harder to find. When they become obsolete, the district will no longer be able to repair these older systems.

The State Aid from a referendum is money that residents have already paid to the state through income taxes. Other districts, like Stafford Township, are using this funding mechanism to complete large facilities projects. A referendum is a chance to bring a share of that funding back to invest in the Lacey Township School District.

2. If the referendum fails there are other options, but they are not as cost-efficient as a referendum, and taxes would still increase.

Officials say that the district may be forced to take out a five-year lease for $5.7 million at a 4 percent interest rate to replace part of the high school roof. It would cost taxpayers roughly the same amount per year for those five years as getting $30 million through the referendum to replace six roofs because of the 40 percent debt service aid from the state and financing the projects over a 20-year period, officials said.

In short, the district can replace one partial roof through a lease or replace every roof with the referendum, with no tax increase.

It’s important to note: the district would have to find a way to fit the lease payments within its mandatory 2 percent tax levy cap, which is not a feasible alternative.

Additional staffing and program cuts will be required to fit this lease payment, according to district officials.

3. Question 1 alone provides $30 million in critical repairs for no tax increase above what residents currently pay. How?

Tax payments for this investment would pick up where previous payments drop off. If Question 1 is not passed, the resulting tax decrease from the retiring debt is $9 per month for the average assessed home. It comes down to $30 million in critical repairs or a savings of $9 per month.

Anyone who has questions regarding the referendum is invited to email vote@laceyschools.org.

More information can be found on the dedicated referendum website, www.laceyschools.org/vote, including frequently asked questions and a calculator residents can use to customize their estimated tax impact, based on their home assessment.