Voting Starts Tuesday On $1.67M Washington Township Schools Bond

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, NJ — Washington Township residents have a chance on Tuesday, Jan. 28, to vote in a special election to put a cap on four school building infrastructure projects, meaning the state would give the school district a hefty grant.

Washington Township Schools Superintendent Jeff Mohre told Patch in an email that a successful vote on Tuesday to limit the costs to $4,174,248 would lead to a $1.67 million grant from the State of New Jersey to help with these projects. Mohre said in the email that the multi-million dollar projects can be done without raising taxes if the measure passes.

Polling is from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

The priority projects, Mohre said, would be to install a new HVAC system, an electrical upgrade and a partial roof replacement for the Old Farmers Road School and a partial roof replacement for the Long Valley Middle School.

See a slideshow presentation on the measure.

"This is an excellent opportunity for our Board of Education to continue the timely and quality maintenance of its schools," Mohre told Patch.

"What makes this special election extra special is the fact that we strongly anticipate that no new tax dollars will be needed to support the building projects," he said.

According to Mohre, if the measure passes, the Board of Education will combine the $1.67 million grant with $2,504,248 in board's Capital Reserve Account to makes its one and only debt payment in July 2021.

"This is why we strongly anticipate a tax impact of $0. The Board, along with its bonding counsel, simply do not foresee the need to raise additional tax monies to complete the four identified priority projects," he told Patch.

Visit the district's Quick Links section for more information on Tuesday's election, including answers to frequently asked questions.

(Patch editor Geoff Dempsey contributed to this report.)