$26M Referendum OKed By West Morris Regional School Board

MENDHAM, NJ — A referendum to fund critical improvements and updates around the West Morris Regional High School District is expected next year, with the school board agreeing to put an anticipated bond question up for a vote in March.

The board of education voted Monday on a resolution to move forward with a referendum for a package of facilities projects for the district's schools.

The amount of the referendum is estimated to be $26,047,276.

West Morris Central High School would receive $11,833,417, while Mendham High School would receive $14,213,859.

According to school officials, the debt service from the previous referendum, which was passed 20 years ago, will finish in May 2024, and the district has identified some maintenance, restoration, and upgrading projects.

Given the two percent tax levy cap, the majority of the planned projects are high-cost items that will be difficult to incorporate into the districts' annual operational budgets.

When presenting the benefits of a referendum, the school district stated that as much as 40 percent of final project expenses are available in New Jersey state aid for eligible projects authorized through a referendum. The majority of the projects on the district's list are eligible for state assistance.

The referendum is also an opportunity to make much-needed upgrades at a lower cost than taxpayers are currently incurring to cover the debt that will be retired in 2024.

What are the proposed projects?

At West Morris Mendham, the projects include:

• Replace and/or seal problematic areas of the roof
• Renovate and update the kitchen—all new appliances, fixtures, surfaces, etc.
• Update the cafeteria: replace outside security doors, create better student flow, and improve the aesthetics in the room, etc.

• Renovate Culinary Arts Room 217—add a sixth station and update all areas of the room
• Renovate Tech Rooms 142 and 143—new flooring, drywall, lighting, etc.
• Renovate locker rooms in the Field house; create 10 modern stalled showers for both boys and girls, and repurpose other shower areas to storage for athletic equipment
• Replace the building’s PA system
• Replace asphalt in problem areas
• Deliver cool air to all classrooms not currently cooled and to the auxiliary gym

At West Morris Central, the projects include:

• Replace and/or seal problematic areas of the roof
• Renovate and update the kitchen—all new appliances, fixtures, surfaces, etc.
• Update the cafeteria: remove the stage, create better student flow, improve the aesthetics in the room, etc.
• Renovate Tech Lab Room D118
• Renovate locker rooms in the Field house; create 10 modern stalled showers for both boys and girls and repurpose other shower areas to storage for athletic equipment
• Replace asphalt in problem areas
• Deliver cool air to all classrooms that are not currently cooled

Currently, several classrooms and common areas where students congregate in both high schools have A/C: cafeterias, libraries, main gyms, auditoriums, and so on. Air conditioning would be provided in all classrooms and common areas as a result of this referendum project.

Notable exceptions are hallways, field houses and the auxiliary gym at West Morris Central, which is an interior room with no sun exposure surrounded by air-conditioned spaces. Cooling in field house classrooms will be accomplished separately from the referendum.

In March, voters will be asked to approve a $26,047,276 expenditure for the projects listed by the board and to enable the board to issue bonds in that amount to pay for them.

The language in the referendum question informs voters that as much as 40 percent of the approved project costs are eligible for debt service reimbursement (aka state aid); the remaining $2,566,955 of project costs are not eligible for debt service reimbursement.

According to the district, in this situation, state aid reimbursement will amount to about $8 million of the total.

Barbara Sargent, Superintendent of Schools for the West Morris Regional High School District, stated that information regarding the special election and the different projects included in the referendum will be posted on the schools' and BOE's websites.