Manchester Voters Approve $15.5 Million Referendum for School Upgrades

Manchester’s schools will undergo $15.5 million worth of repairs and upgrades next summer, after voters on Tuesday approved a referendum on the projects.

The referendum passed 2,090 to 1,290, according to tallies from the Ocean County Clerk’s office. The 3,380 ballots cast represent just 10.2 percent of the township’s 32,496 registered voters.

The voters’ approval allows the township’s school district to move forward with the work, which includes upgrading and replacing the heating, ventiliation and air conditioning system’s at the district’s five schools, adding security improvements, and replacing roofs, which are out of warranty.

The school district will bond for $9.3 million to pay for the work, while a state grant will pay for the remaining $6.2 million.

School officials project that energy savings from the various upgrades and repairs will amount to more than $5 million over the life of the bonds, offsetting the costs to taxpayers, school officials said.

The project is expected to add about $19 to the property tax bill of the average home of $158,000, officials said.