Referendum Election Pushed Back In Madison Borough

MADISON, NJ — Another update on the referendum that is expected to go before the Madison public next year was provided at the December Superintendent's Coffee meeting.

According to Mark Schwarz, Superintendent of Madison Schools, a recent personnel change within the school district has affected the timeline for the referendum.

Danielle Mancuso, the business administrator for Madison Public Schools, is moving to another school district, and the transition is expected to take place in the early months of 2023.

"This transition in our business office is going to create a challenge because losing our lead in this position is going to require a lot of our time to make sure we get someone very qualified into that position, so that is going to require quite a bit of focus," Schwarz said.

The school district's budget season is also in the first few months of 2023, making the transition of business administrator even more difficult. Despite the fact that Mancuso has been preparing the initial budget, she will no longer be with the district for the budget's introduction or finalization, according to Schwarz.

All of those factors have contributed to the postponement of the referendum until September.

The three-question referendum was first proposed by the school board earlier this fall as a way to finance necessary facility improvements within the district.

"Our schools really need them. If you haven't been around our schools, they're just quite outdated and I don't mean dated in the way of well-maintained like there is asbestos everywhere. There are many major projects that we can't really dig into without incurring major asbestos costs and so as a result we really need to these in large bulk actions," Schwarz said,

Madison Public Schools' annual budget is only allowed to grow by two percent per year, making it nearly impossible for the district to fund the improvements on its own.

The district is expected to receive up to 34 percent of matched state funding as a result of the referendum, officials said.

The next step in the process, according to Schwarz, is obtaining final project approval from the Department of Education, which is expected in January. Following that, the district will provide the public with a more detailed explanation of the referendum.