Results Are In: School Referendum Passes Unofficially In Bridgewater-Raritan

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — A majority of Bridgewater and Raritan voters unofficially approved the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District's referendum to make significant renovations to district-wide schools and to have full-day kindergarten.

A vote on the referendum was held on Tuesday, March 14.

According to the preliminary results recorded by the Somerset County’s Election Division, the two-question referendum received the following numbers as of 9:57 p.m. on March 14:

• Question No. 1: Yes received 2,204 votes. No recorded 892
• Question No. 2: Yes registered 1,945 votes. No received 1,155

A total of 3,111 ballots were cast of the 40,392 registered voters, according to Somerset County.

The first question of the two-part $155 million referendum had asked residents in both the communities of Bridgewater Township and the Borough of Raritan to approve $120 million to upgrade all 11 of the district schools, which will have a zero tax impact.

The second question proposed an addition to the Middle School that would create a traditional middle school environment spanning grades 6-8. Adding sixth grade to the current Bridgewater- Raritan Middle School would free up space at the primary schools, allowing the district to implement a full-day kindergarten program. This action would then result in primary schools educating Grades K-3, Intermediate schools would contain Grades 4-5, and the Middle School would house Grades 6-8.

Question No. 2 had a projected cost of $34 million. The passing of Question No. 2 increases the tax on an average Bridgewater home that is assessed at $488,933 by $90 per year and an

average home in Raritan that is assessed at $320,525, by $66 a year.

The State of New Jersey offered 27 percent in financial assistance in debt service aid. That savings resulted in a final cost of $83,766,396 for the Question No. 1 project and $29,388,077 for Question No. 2 project.

The total cost for the Referendum 2023 is $113,154,779.

An additional question has been scheduled during the general election in November that will ask the two communities to approve the total operating costs of the full-day kindergarten for $2.46 million.

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