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Fanwood mayor, superintendent outline Sept. 17 referendum to buy, renovate former L Grant school and fund HVAC upgrades
Summary
Mayor Colleen Maher and Scotch Plains–Fanwood Superintendent Dr. Joan Mass previewed a Sept. 17 referendum that asks voters to fund purchase/renovation of the former L Grant school to add a sixth elementary and a second question for districtwide HVAC, electrical and safety upgrades; estimated cost is $115 million with about $15 million in state aid and an average Fanwood tax impact of $40/month if both questions pass.
Colleen Maher, mayor of Fanwood, and Dr. Joan Mass, superintendent of the Scotch Plains–Fanwood Board of Education, described a two-question referendum set for Sept. 17, 2024 that would (1) buy and renovate the former L Grant school to create a sixth neighborhood elementary and (2) fund districtwide heating, ventilation and air-conditioning, electrical and safety upgrades.
The referendum is intended to relieve classroom crowding after the district’s enrollment rose by roughly 1,000 students over time, Dr. Mass said, and to bring universal air conditioning and modern electrical and fire-alarm systems to aging buildings. "We're over a thousand students in enrollment and we're feeling that squeeze in our classrooms," Dr. Mass said, citing tighter class sizes and the loss of spaces used for art, music and language instruction.
The two questions are structured so that voters first decide whether to approve the purchase and renovation of the L Grant school; only if that question passes may they approve the second question covering HVAC and other system upgrades. Maher and Dr. Mass said the combined package is roughly $115 million and that the district expects about $15 million in state aid to offset costs. The mayor cited an average Fanwood tax impact of about $40 per month if both questions pass and directed residents to the district website for an address-level calculator and full question text. "I'm voting for the school," Maher said.
If approved, the district would renovate and expand the building to house PreK–5 as a neighborhood elementary designed to bring a public school back into Fanwood and reduce the need for temporary modular classrooms now on some campuses. Dr. Mass said the school is expected to come online in 2027–28 and that detailed planning — including traffic studies and neighbor engagement — would proceed after voter approval.
Question two would fund districtwide mechanical, electrical and safety work, including universal air conditioning, electrical upgrades to support more technology and new fire alarms where needed. Unlike the purchase/renovation work, officials said, much of the second-question work could begin almost immediately if approved.
Officials emphasized outreach opportunities before the vote: two open houses are scheduled (Aug. 20 at Forest Road Park, 7:00 p.m.; and Aug. 22 at the high school media center), voter registration closes Aug. 27, vote-by-mail applications are due Sept. 10, and polls for the referendum open Sept. 17 from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Maher and Dr. Mass encouraged residents to review the detailed information and tax-impact calculator posted on the Scotch Plains–Fanwood Board of Education website.
The conversation offered voters timelines, costs and programmatic goals without resolving whether they will support the measures; the referendum vote on Sept. 17 will determine whether the district proceeds with purchase and renovation of the L Grant school and the accompanying system upgrades.
