Berkeley Heights board keeps two-question March 10 referendum after lengthy presentation and debate

The Berkeley Heights Board of Education voted on Nov. 18 to place a two-question referendum on the March 10, 2026 ballot, preserving the original pairing of projects after rejecting a board amendment that would have moved more roofing and mechanical work into the tax-neutral question. The vote followed a three-hour public presentation and more than two hours of questions from board members and residents.

Consultant Frank Msinio told the board the district is proposing a two-part referendum. "The district is proposing to conduct a referendum with a two-part question," he said, describing a first question of roughly $21.2 million that would fund media-center renovations at all schools, site and parking improvements, security and technology expansions and a partial roof replacement at Woodruff Elementary. Msinio said the state has approved roughly $7.1 million in debt-service aid that would reduce the net local cost of Question 1 and keep it tax-neutral under the district's financing assumption.

A second, contingent Question 2 would add additional educational and capital projects including multiple roof replacements, mechanical and plumbing upgrades, science and STEM lab renovations and an enlarged backup generator at the high school. Msinio said Question 2 would cost about $29.1 million before state aid; with an estimated $9.8 million in state aid, the local share would produce a typical tax impact the district estimated at about $250.37 per year on the average…