Full-Day Kindergarten To Go Up For Vote In Hillsborough

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — The Hillsborough Board of Education members voted at their first meeting of 2019 to place a $8.09 million referendum on the ballot for voters on March 12 to decide on whether to implement a full-day kindergarten program as well as laying out a plan for long-term financial stability.

If the referendum is approved by voters, it will increase 2019 property taxes approximately $25 per month on the average Hillsborough home assessed at $389,300. This is equal to approximately $6 per month for every $100,000 of assessed home value.

This tax estimate is based on the November 2018 ratables. The finalized tax rate will be based on the Township’s February 2019 ratables which have yet to be released, according to the district.

If passed by voters, the full-day kindergarten would be implemented for the start of the 2019-2020 school year. The program would be held at all six elementary schools in the district.

Expenses associated with the implementation include staff, supplies, training, technology, transportation costs, and the lease of modular classrooms to be used for offices and/or specialty classrooms.

Additionally the passage of the full-day kindergarten would help the school district gain more funding from the state, the district claimed.

In comparison, Hillsborough is one of three districts in Somerset County — Bridgewater and Montgomery are the other two— that only offers a half-day kindergarten program. Additionally about 90 percent of districts in New Jersey have a full day kindergarten.

If the referendum does not pass, the number of teachers and staff would need to be considered as well as increasing class sizes.

The district would also be forced to contemplate increasing fees for students to participate in athletics and co-curricular activities, raising fees for technology, and eliminating programs that the Board could no longer afford, the district stated.

Click here for more information on the referendum.

(Image via Shutterstock)

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