Residents to vote on Dunellen School Facilities Enhancements Project

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A special school election will be held on Tuesday, December 10 from 6am to 8pm at Lincoln Middle School and the Dunellen Firehouse. On the ballot is only one public question, whether or not to allow the Dunellen Board of Education (BOE) to undertake the renovation and upgrades of Dunellen’s three schools, and expend and issue bonds to the amount not to exceed $23,800,000.00 in order to fund the project. Approval of the question would permit using up $5,827,996 of the $10,322,280 borrowing margin of the Borough of Dunellen. If the proposal passes, the State of New Jersey would also provide debt service aid to cover 57.03% of the total project’s cost of $31.3million.

Promotional materials posted on the Dunellen school district’s website encouraging the approval of the proposed funding strategy tout “zero tax impact for the construction and renovations.” To pay for the project, the board would use two money streams. First, the BOE has promised to reserve $2.5million from the next ten school year budgets for the project, depositing the funds into the capital reserve. Secondly, the project would use $15.2 million in Debt Service Aid received from the State of New Jersey,

This school year (2019-2020), the State of New Jersey increased state funding to the school district based on the new funding formula. The BOE set aside an initial $2.5million in the school district’s annual budget (including the increased funds), using the monies on construction projects (such as the DHS sewer line replacement and refurbishment of second floor restrooms) with the remaining funds going toward the facilities enhancement project. The board foresees that the additional state funding will continue and would use it to pay back the bond.

The school district is looking for a bond to cover $23.8 million which is nearly $6million over the school district’s debt ceiling (the cap on the amount of debt that can be issued). Those additional funds would need to come from the borough’s debt ceiling reducing that to approximately $4million. According to an FAQ posted on the borough website, the referendum may “adversely affect the Borough’s future ability to borrow, because of the lowered debt ceiling. An unintended consequence of the school board’s referendum is its impact on the borough council’s ability to borrow for future, “big ticket” expenditures.”

Regardless of the election outcome, the facilities enhancement project will proceed. However, should the referendum not pass, funding would solely come from the annual $2.5million reserved in the school year budget. With the loss of the state grant, the project would cost an additional $7.1million. Instead of taking 6-7 years to implement, it would take over double that time.

Projects to be completed at Faber Elementary School include:

  • An addition to the school, adding six classrooms (to be funded through the Capital Reserve)
  • Central air conditioning for the cafeteria and entire second floor
  • Backup generator
  • Roof replacement

    • Projects to be completed at Dunellen High School include:

  • Complete rebuild of the auditorium, gymnasium, locker rooms, art room, choir room, band room, and all bathrooms
  • Backup generator
  • New techno center and STEAM lab
  • Reconfiguration of classroom space including subdividing current larger classrooms

    • Projects to be completed for Lincoln Middle School include:

  • Upgrades to the bathroom facilities
  • Renovations to bridge and stairs
  • Backup power generator

    • Three presentations regarding the facilities enhancement project were held this fall. The October 14 presentation was livestreamed on Facebook by Dunellen411. Additional videos were created and posted by the BOE on the school website.

    RESOURCES:

    12/9/19 9:25pm Edited to correct the projected time frame if bonding is accepted.

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