Hillsborough Says Yes To $35.4M School Referendum

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Hillsborough voters passed the much needed $35.4 million bond referendum to provide improvements across the nine schools in the district on Tuesday.

Hillsborough School Board President, Judy Haas stated, "I am thrilled that the community came out to support our schools. We are excited to move forward to improving the quality of life for our students and staff and look forward to getting this work done as efficiently as possible."

Despite turnout being extremely low with only 15 percent of registered voters showing up, the referendum still passed with just over 3,000 yes votes. There were also about 1,300 no votes.

Looking at the breakdown voters in every district voted in favor of the referendum. Here is a closer look at the numbers:

Passing the referendum means taxes will decrease by $42 for the average Hillsborough homeowner with a property value of $350,000, according Michael Callahan, spokesman for the Hillsborough School District.

This reduction is due to the district retiring debt from a previous referenda in 2021-2022
Additionally, since it passed the state will pay 40 percent (or about $14 million) towards the total project cost. This funding would not have been available if the referendum did not pass, Callahan said.

The money from the referendum would be used to pay for "critical infrastructure and capital improvements" such as roofing, air quality (HVAC), power and lighting upgrades, exterior repairs, and security.

To see what work will specifically be done at each school visit htps.us/repair_replace_revive.

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