Bond Referendum Proposed For Moorestown School Upgrades

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Moorestown schools could modernize infrastructure, reduce class sizes and institute full-day kindergarten through a bond referendum, officials said.

Moorestown Township Public Schools is in the preliminary stages of planning for a bond referendum — a ballot initiative allowing voters to decide whether the district can issue bonds to generate revenue for special projects.

The vote is projected for next March. In 2019, Moorestown held a bond referendum for school improvements worth $26 million, which 60 percent of voters rejected.

Proposed improvements include expanding William Allen Middle School's (WAMS) building, which would allow for more traditional age distribution among the district's schools.

A successful referendum would also give the district up-front funding and state assistance for upgrading outdated HVACs, enhancing security and renovate its other facilities, officials said during a presentation at April 30's Board of Education meeting.

Moorestown's district tends to be among the top-performing in the state. But with aging infrastructure and class sizes at their limits, it will be difficult to maintain those standards without significant facility upgrades, says Interim Superintendent Joe Bollendorf.

"You pride yourself on being one of the greatest districts in New Jersey. That doesn't happen by accident," Bollendorf said. "It happens because you live in a community where people care."

Moorestown Public Schools is currently seeking community input on which projects should be part of the anticipated bond referendum. Centralized information on the bond initiative is available at future.mtps.us. Each project was recommended by the district's architectural consultants.

Reconfiguring Grade Levels

WAMS currently serves Grades 7-8. Meanwhile, Moorestown Upper Elementary School (UES) houses Grades 4-6, putting elementary- and middle-school-age children in the same facility. Three PreK-3 schools feed into the upper elementary school.

Expanding WAMS would add room for sixth-graders, allow UES to serve Grades 3-5 and reduce class sizes in the lower-elementary institutions.

The PreK-3 institutions — George C. Baker, Mary E. Roberts and South Valley Elementary Schools — have insufficient space, with class sizes set to grow beyond the district-approved limits, Bollendorf says.

Freeing up space in the lower elementary schools would also give Moorestown the chance to offer full-day, tuition-free kindergarten, officials said. The district is one of only a handful in the state without free, full-day kindergarten — charging tuition for attendance outside of morning hours.

Class sizes in the lower elementary schools have been a longtime issue, said Bridget Potts, a first-grade teacher at Roberts.

"There is definitely a more ideal way to use our current space," Potts said at last month's school board meeting. "But to say that class size is an issue at our current level is an understatement of how big of an issue it currently is."

What Happens Next

Community members can share their input in a survey through May 28. Takeaways from the survey will be shared at June 18's school board meeting.

Typically, local taxes cover the entire cost of repairs and other projects. Through a bond referendum, the state pays for a portion of each project. The district will submit a proposal this summer for the New Jersey Department of Education's approval, which will help determine local costs.

The district will continue engaging with the community during the upcoming fall and winter, before the referendum projected for March 2025. If successful, officials estimate that approved projects would get implemented and constructed through 2028.

Find out more here.