Tour Oxycocus School Ahead Of $75.7M Referendum This Fall

MANAHAWKIN, NJ — Members of the public are invited to do a walkthrough of Oxycocus Elementary School ahead of a $75.7 million bond referendum that, among other upgrades and fixes, includes constructing an addition to said school.

Two options for a guided tour of the building will be offered on Monday, July 29, the district announced in a news release:

• Morning session - 10 to 12 p.m. (the tour begins at 10)
• Evening session - 6 to 8 p.m. (the tour begins at 6)

Stafford Township School District board members, administration and staff, as well as the district’s architect will be on hand to discuss the details of the proposed projects and how they would benefit this school and others in the district as well as our community.

“We highly encourage members of our community to come out and see this building firsthand,” said Superintendent George Chidiac. “Whether you have children in the schools or not, seeing the areas proposed for improvements can be an important way to learn how the referendum could benefit our schools and community.”

Each tour will last about one hour, with time at the end for questions.

The Stafford Township Board of Education will ask the community to vote Tuesday, Sept. 17 on a $75.7 million bond referendum that the district says would fund long-lasting facility improvements to support students, staff and community members. State aid that is only available through a voter-approved bond referendum would pay $15.9 million toward the projects to offset the local taxpayers’ share of the total costs. Read more: $75.7M Bond Referendum Set This Fall In Stafford

Projects include an addition at Oxycocus to support growing enrollment, updates to the fire systems, electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling system upgrades to improve reliability and cost efficiency, increased accessibility features, and much-needed interior renovations.

The district is using various means to educate all voters about the details of the referendum, including a dedicated website, staffordschools.org/vote, social media, printed materials, local media, and a Community Information Forum on Wednesday, Aug. 28.