Nutley Takes Another Crack At School Referendum: 2018 Election

NUTLEY, NJ — The 2018 General Election isn’t just a chance for Nutley residents to choose their local representatives… it’s also an opportunity to help decide the future of the town’s public schools.

Nutley Public School District administrators recently announced that, if all goes according to plan, there will be two referendum questions in Nutley as part of the ballot on Nov. 6. If approved, the referendums would fund a “15-to-20-year solution” to overcrowding in the district by creating additional classroom space and removing trailers from the district’s elementary schools.

Read the full ballot questions here.

During the Nutley Board of Education meeting on Sept. 17, President Daniel Carnicella gave attendees an update on the revamped school referendum. (Read his full statement here)

The project was originally presented as a single, $70 million package in 2017, which voters rejected 2,380 to 1,879. The rejected bond issue would have added about $358 to the average homeowner's yearly taxes over three years.

• See related article: Nutley Voters Say 'No' To $70M School Bond Issue

For the 2018 vote, as part of an effort to give Nutley voters more flexibility regarding what aspects of the expansion they’d like to fund, officials have now split the referendum into two separate questions, Carnicella said.

• “Question 1 would allow the district to bond for the funding needed to provide only instructional space. That would include classrooms at both Washington and Yantacaw. This addition will eliminate trailers and bring students back into the main buildings, providing the safest educational environment for our students… Question 1 will also provide funding to expand the middle school and increase the educational experience of our sixth grade and provide physical education space which cannot be supported in the current facility once the sixth-grade matriculates to the middle school. Last, the funding will also support renovations to the high school to create additional STEAM classes, as well as small group instruction areas for students.”
• “Question 2 would allow the funding to complete the multi-purpose spaces at the both Washington and Yantacaw and fund a new Media Center at the front of the High School.”

According to Carnicella, after two demographer reports, several years of planning and reviews by two superintendents, the district continues to see evidence supporting the solutions officials brought forward to the Nutley community as part of its original proposal.

“We still believe that all the components of the 2017 referendum strengthen our ability to shape well-educated students, enhance the culture and traditions of this community, increase the overall value of Nutley, and continue to provide opportunities for future families to enjoy all this community has to offer,” he said.

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Photo: Nutley Public Schools