Egg Harbor Township voters will go to the polls March 10 to decide on a $36 million bond referendum to fund renovations and improvement at six schools – all with no increase in the tax rate.
The special election seeks funding for maintenance and upgrades at the Alder Avenue Middle School, Egg Harbor Township High School, Fernwood Avenue Middle School, Dr. Joyanne D. Miller School, Slaybaugh Primary School and the Swift Elementary School. The public is invited to ask questions and learn more at a town hall meeting 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 23, at the Alder Avenue Middle School. It will also be live-streamed on the district website.
The project would be financed without increasing the tax rate, district officials said. Bond debt from 2004 is coming off the books just as new debt would be added, which means taxpayers would not experience a change in the debt service tax levy as a result of the project.
State aid is also helping. The total referendum amount is $35,975,178 with the state contributing $8,042,699 in debt service aid. Of the part that’s eligible for debt service aid, the state is paying 46.36%. Considering the whole package, state debt service aid is picking up 22.42% of the tab. Referendum funds can pay for capital projects only; salaries and supplies are not part of the vote.
Slaybaugh Primary School, which is scheduled to get a 14-classroom addition, represents the largest expenditure at $17,035,162, Egg Harbor Township High School would get $7,990,465 in improvements and Fernwood Avenue Middle School is scheduled for $7,494,224 in improvements. Alder Avenue Middle School would receive $1,196,250, Swift Elementary School $1,192,309 and the Dr. Joyanne D. Miller Elementary School $1,066,768.
While the Slaybaugh addition is a central part of the plan and the largest, it is not receiving state debt service aid, nor are athletic field improvements at the high school, which were initially okayed until the state recently withdrew the approval.
The referendum could have been added to the November ballot, but a separate March special vote was selected because the timing maximizes the amount of debt service aid available, according to Daniel Smith, school district business administrator and school board secretary.
The March date means that the money would be available in the 2026-2027 budget cycle versus 2028-2029 if they waited until November. The district has budgeted $40,000 for the special election, Smith said, although the cost is expected to be cheaper.
“We want to be able to get that first interest payment in the fiscal year ’27 budget to avoid the debt service tax levy being at $5.4 million, then going down to 3.8, then going back up to 5.4,” said Smith in a Dec. 16 project update. “We’re trying to keep it consistent.”
After the state changed its mind about the high school athletic fields, Smith said this week that the district is going to use capital reserve funds to contribute to the referendum cost in the second year to maintain the approximately $5.4 million levy.
“Currently, the average taxpayer pays about $277 per year on their debt service tax levy,” Smith said in an earlier project presentation. “Our goal is to keep that consistent through fiscal year 2030.” In fiscal year 2031, the levy would actually go down to about $125 per year for the average taxpayer, he said.
Joseph Marinelli, principal of Slaybaugh Primary and Bargaintown Preschool, said parents expressed their desire for a full-day preschool during the district strategic planning process.
“Currently, we lease space at the Bargaintown Preschool, but the 14-classroom addition at Slaybaugh Primary allows us to move those classrooms over,” Marinelli said. “This will free up lease funds that can be reallocated to other instructional needs throughout the school district.”
Smith said closing the Bargaintown Preschool is an important benefit.
“It frees up funds in the general fund that can be used for other purposes… financially, the best option is to just do an addition at Slaybaugh Primary.”
At Egg Harbor Township High School, the planned improvements include upgrading HVAC control systems to properly utilize new equipment, and replacing the weight room HVAC system. Additionally, the district plans to complete athletic field improvements, including the reconfiguration of fields and improving irrigation and drainage.
“Finally, we are planning upgrades to drainage, paving and irrigation to ensure our fields remain the premier athletic complex in the county,” said Jacki Carugno, EHTHS principal.
At Fernwood Middle School the plan is to replace the original chiller, renovate the auditorium (flooring, seating, and sound) and renovate the boys’ and girls’ locker rooms to create two smaller locker rooms and three new classrooms.
At Alder Middle, a deteriorating membrane roof would be replaced with one that’s expected to last 30 years. Swift Elementary School would also replace its deteriorating gravel roof with a 30-year roof and complete safety-related repairs to the boiler room walls and ceiling.
The Joyanne D. Miller School would convert space in the media center to construct four small group instruction classrooms, allowing teachers to work on specific skills and differentiated learning.
Smith expects it will take three to four years to complete all the projects from the time of the vote until the last project is completed.
The vote is scheduled for noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, open to registered Egg Harbor Township residents only. If you want to apply for a mail-in ballot, the deadline is March 3. It will be a simple yes or no vote.
The public is invited to learn more at the district’s referendum website, which contains FAQs, PowerPoints and videos on the plan, including commentary from district officials and project details. It also includes a sample ballot. See https://www.eht.k12.nj.us/board_of_education/referendum
Copy editor and Contributing Writer James FitzPatrick has been a community journalist in Atlantic and Cape May counties for more than 30 years, including 20 years as editor of The Current Newspapers. He lives in Hammonton.
