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Board sets Sept. 15 referendum date, outlines classroom and infrastructure priorities
Summary
Administrators outlined referendum-driven projects including classroom additions at Sussex and FMS, pool preservation and critical infrastructure repairs, and said the district will hold a public referendum vote on Sept. 15 with ongoing community communications.
District leaders described facility projects they plan to place before voters in a public referendum scheduled for Sept. 15. The superintendent said the referendum priorities grew from the district's strategic goal-setting and community input, and emphasized needs driven by aging infrastructure and increasing enrollment in some neighborhoods.
Specific priorities discussed included additional classrooms at Sussex and FMS, replacing failed under-slab steam piping at Alfred Vale (40 linear feet replaced earlier in the year), preserving the high-school pool that is at end of life, and other repairs necessary to improve learning spaces and safety. Administrators framed the referendum as necessary to provide flexible learning spaces, air-conditioned classrooms and long-term infrastructure fixes.
The district said it is preparing communications materials and a referendum website, forming a communications committee of faculty and community leaders, and will continue public engagement events to explain projects and funding implications to voters.
Financial specifics for some projects were discussed in the board's budget presentation (including an estimated $3.2 million athletic turf project at Frelinghuysen); the board said additional funding detail and state aid estimates will be part of the referendum planning materials as they become available.
