$3.3M In State Funds Earmarked For Morristown School Projects

MORRISTOWN, NJ — A new wave of state funding will enable hundreds of schools to make crucial infrastructure upgrades that can help keep kids in the classroom – and some of it is coming to Morristown.

On Thursday, the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) and the New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA) announced the approval of roughly $450 million in construction funds to address critical facility needs in 261 school districts throughout the state.

For the Morris School District, the state will pay $3,376,660, which will be put towards a $8,441,650 estimated project cost, state officials said. See how much funding other schools in Morris County are slated to get below.

According to officials, the improvements were "identified by needs" and included major building renovations, boiler replacement, HVAC and electrical system replacement, and roof repairs.

The cash will also assist some districts in resolving building code violations.

While it is unclear what the $3.3 million in Morristown will be used for, officials noted during the budgeting process for the 2023–24 district budget that capital projects planned for the coming years include $7.7 million for Woodland School renovations, $1.4 million for Morristown High School's new lights and scoreboard, and more than $1 million for soil remediation at Alexander Hamilton School.

Last August, the Morris School District submitted plans for proposed new athletic field lighting at 50 Early Street, as well as a new electronic scoreboard at the football field, to the town planning board for review and recommendation.

According to school officials, the addition of lights will allow for night games, practices, and band rehearsals. An LED scoreboard will also be installed at the western end of the field to replace the one behind the east-side goalposts.

Funding for the school construction initiative was made possible through legislation signed in 2022 and grant funding from SDA allocations.

Here are some of the other districts in Morris County getting money for necessary projects, according to the state:

• Morris Plains
  • Estimated project cost: $3,426,180
  • State share: $1,370,472
• Morris School District
  • Estimated project cost: $8,441,650
  • State share: $3,376,660
• Madison
  • Estimated project cost: $1,149,550
  • State share: $459,820
• Mendham
  • Estimated project cost: $1,203,750
  • State share: $481,500
• Mendham Township
  • Estimated project cost: $1,979,459
  • State share: $791,784

• Mount Olive Township
  • Estimated project cost: $3,334,000
  • State share: $1,333,600
• Mountain Lakes
  • Estimated project cost: $2,260,500
  • State share: $904,200
• Parsippany-Troy Hills Township
  • Estimated project cost: $468,176
  • State share: $187,270

According to state authorities, $350 million of the $450 million will come from the state's Debt Defeasance and Prevention Fund, which was formed two years ago to assist in paying down existing debt and avoid accruing new debt by funding projects outright rather than incurring new borrowing.

“This move is expected to save the state and taxpayers roughly $350 million in total as opposed to issuing 30-year bonds at current interest rates,” officials said in a news release.

In addition to the $449.9 million in state funding, local contributions totaling $598.5 million are estimated to bring the total cost of construction to more than $1 billion.

“This funding is part of a state and local partnership that will invest in hundreds of school projects while saving a significant amount of taxpayer dollars,” Gov. Phil Murphy said.

This article contains reporting from Patch's Eric Kiefer.