Moorestown board authorizes submission of revised $112.5 million project applications to NJDOE; bus depot, turf fields highlighted

The Moorestown Township Public School District board voted to authorize submission of revised project applications totaling about $112.5 million to the New Jersey Department of Education for review, Superintendent Dr. Courtney McNeely and district architect Steve Schreyer said at the board meeting.

The applications, if approved by the NJDOE and included in a fall bond referendum, would fund renovations and additions across the district, with estimated project costs of about $17 million for elementary projects, $50 million for William Allen Middle School and $44 million for Moorestown High School, Schreyer said. The package also includes site work at the high school: a relocated bus depot, new staff parking and multiple turf-field replacements.

Why it matters: Board members and the administration said the work would create classroom space for projected enrollment growth, replace aging HVAC and roofing components, and add safety and circulation improvements. The board voted to send the revised applications to the state but did not vote on referendum questions, tax impacts or final project phasing.

District presentation and scope Steve Schreyer, principal architect for Freightech Vyse Hopkins Doothy, told the board the submission bundle includes rehabilitation projects for all buildings, upgraded districtwide HVAC controls, replacements of select HVAC units, roof and envelope repairs, public-address and clock/messaging system upgrades and selective fire alarm work. He said the middle school scope proposes a two-story, 24,500-square-foot classroom addition and an 11,000-square-foot gym addition to accommodate a planned shift of sixth grade into William Allen Middle School.

On the high school campus, Schreyer described site changes that would relocate the district bus depot onto what is currently Field 1 and replace other fields with turf. "Field Number 1, which is adjacent to current bus depot at the high school, we're gonna be removing this field. This is going to be the location of the proposed bus depot," Schreyer said. He also described a proposed freestanding bus maintenance garage, new staff parking and a new entrance drive from Bridgeboro Road.

Flood hazard, wetlands and timeline questions Board members and district staff noted the proposed bus-depot site sits near a waterway and will require a hydrology study and agency review. Schreyer and the district's engineering consultant said a preliminary review of flood-hazard maps did not show an established delineation but that a detailed hydrology and wetlands analysis will be required and that an agency process could be lengthy. "There's gonna be a lot of survey, a hydrology study that will take place, and then we're gonna be, have to make an agency submission to the Department of Environmental Protection," Schreyer said. The team estimated roughly an 18-month timeline for the survey and related work before construction could proceed on the site-dependent elements.

Costs, state aid and next steps Schreyer presented estimated project costs by building: about $17 million at elementary schools, $50 million at the middle school and about $44 million at the high school, for a proposed package totaling approximately $112.5 million. Dr. McNeely and other board members noted the district expects to seek some state aid and that final tax impacts will depend on NJDOE review and decisions about question structure on a ballot. "The board is not voting on specific projects, and I wanted to make that very clear to you because this is not the formation of the questions or the tax impact," Dr. McNeely said.

The board passed a resolution to submit the revised project applications to the New Jersey Department of Education by roll call vote (see "Votes at a glance"). Schreyer said, if the board directs submission, the NJDOE review could take about 90 days and the district anticipates notification about potential state aid by June; the board would then determine referendum question structure and voter timing.

What the board approved and did not approve The board approved sending the applications to the NJDOE for review. The board did not adopt referendum language, set tax rates or authorize construction spending at this meeting. District officials said phasing and project order will be driven by agency approvals, the hydrology/wetlands work and decisions about which projects to place on ballot questions.

Provenance "topicintro": excerpt from superintendent opening describing submission and scope (transcript block at 834.605: "...we brought our architect from Fray Tech, Vyse, Hopkins, and Doothy to present the projects that we're proposing in the referendum. As you know, we're pushing for a fall vote now...").

"topfinish": excerpt from architect summary and timeline (transcript block at 1848.8999: "...we would have everything ready to go, this week. It's gonna be about a 90 day review period...that puts us in the June when we anticipate a notification from the Department of Education to hear about potential state aid...").

Ending The district said it will hold further public information sessions and post presentations and videos on the district referendum page (mtps.com → referendum) as the NJDOE review proceeds. If the NJDOE returns the applications with eligible state aid, the board will determine final ballot questions and timing for a public vote.