Clearview to ask approval of bond issue
Clearview Regional is the only South Jersey district asking voters to approve a bond issue on Election Day next week.
Clearview Regional is the only South Jersey district asking voters to approve a bond issue on Election Day next week.
Two other districts in the region - Newfield in Gloucester County and Elmer in Salem County - are asking voters to pass proposed tax increases that exceed the state's 2 percent cap.
Elsewhere in the state, seven other districts have construction-bond referendums, and three others have budget questions. There also are 1,861 candidates running for 1,528 open school board seats statewide.
Like the overwhelming majority of the state's more than 500 school districts, Clearview, in Gloucester County, has moved its school board elections to November. A 2012 state law allowed the shift from April and then eliminated budget votes in those districts for any proposed tax increase below the 2 percent cap.
Voters in Mantua and Harrison Township, which comprise the Clearview district, will consider a $1.9 million question to renovate two unused classrooms into labs at the high school and improve technology at the middle school.
If approved, the owner of a home in Harrison Township with a valuation of $100,000 would pay $4.84 more a year, while in Mantua the owner of a home valued at $100,000 would pay $5.35 more a year.
The district says the renovations are needed to better prepare students with science, technology, engineering, and math labs. Also, more than 100 whiteboards would be added so that every classroom in the district has at least one.
Superintendent John Horchak said the district "would do our children a disservice" if it failed to provide more STEM learning.
"Our community has been very supportive. They understand the need," Horchak said Wednesday.
The proposed districtwide technology upgrades include increasing bandwidth between buildings and installing an emergency generator.
Newfield and Elmer are nonoperating districts that send their students to neighboring districts. Their budgets mostly cover tuition costs for their students.
But neither community can generate adequate revenue through its general budget to pay the tuition, said business administrator Henry Bermann. Unlike districts that can slash their proposed operating budgets, these districts have few places to cut, he said.
So both are asking voters to approve additional spending beyond the 2 percent cap, he said.
Newfield voters are being asked to approve a tax increase that would generate an additional $270,000 for tuition for K-5 students who attend Franklin Township schools and $310,000 for tuition for students at Delsea Regional, he said.
The average homeowner would see an increase between $500 and $600, he said.
"I doubt that the community will be able to support that kind of levy," said Bermann. "It's basically a disaster waiting to happen."
Bermann said voters in Elmer face a similar scenario. The district needs about $650,000 for tuition for students who attend Pittsgrove Township schools, where Bermann is also the superintendent.
The typical Elmer homeowner would see an increase of about $650 if approved, he said.
If voters reject the spending increases, the school districts can appeal to the state education commissioner, who has the authority to impose a levy. A Department of Education spokesman said the state would assist districts if needed.
"The first goal is to ensure every child continues to receive a thorough and efficient education, and the next goal is to work with the districts toward resolving the financial issues," the spokesman said in a statement.
School districts can hold a special referendum four times a year. Many districts are choosing to hold them in conjunction with the general election in November, which saves costs.
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