Moorestown Superintendent Reacts As Voters Reject $26M Proposal

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Voters in Moorestown have rejected $26 million in proposed school upgrades during a special election Tuesday night, according to unofficial results posted on the Burlington County Clerk's website.

The vote was broken up into two questions. Results can be found below, and remain unofficial until certified by the county clerk. The total turnout, including mail-in ballots, was 2,773 of the 16,605 registered voters in Moorestown.

Question 1:

Yes: 1,185

No: 1,574

Total votes: 2,759

Precincts reporting: 5/5

Question 2:

Yes: 1,190

No: 1,559

Total votes: 2,749

Precincts reporting: 5/5

"On behalf of the board of education, district administration and staff, we thank our community for engaging in the referendum process and exercising the right to vote," Moorestown Superintendent of Schools Scott McCartney said via email Tuesday night. "We firmly believe this referendum was a cost effective and efficient way to address a multitude of challenges in our district. While disappointed, we respect the outcome of the election. We will continue to serve you, our students and our staff in the best way possible. Have a most joyous holiday season."

The first question incorporated the most urgent and impactful needs of the district, as well as maximizes state aid, according to the district. The cost of this portion of the project is $22.7 million, with the state taking on $7 million of the cost. The tax impact would have been $133 per year on the average assessed home worth about $454,032.

The second question included items that are important but are not as time-critical and are eligible for a limited amount of debt service aid from the state. The cost of this portion of the project is $3.5 million, with the state taking on $143,000 of the cost. The tax impact would have been $27.02 per year on the average assessed home worth about $454,032.

Following Tuesday night's defeat, McCartney said he will meet with the district's professionals, the leadership on the board of education and his administrative staff to discuss options for the future. Any decision on whether to hold another referendum will be ultimately come from the school board, McCartney said.

"With any election, you have to be prepared that the possible answers are yes and no," McCartney said. "While I am disappointed, I am respectful of the process and that the majority of the voters did not support the proposal we put forward."

He said the district will seek feedback as to why voters rejected this proposal. He also reiterated that the scope of the issues identified in this proposal can't be solved in the annual budget alone.

Based on discussions the school district had with the township in the spring, McCartney realistically expects an additional 353 students will be added to the district's population in the next year or two as a result of the development happening throughout the township due to its affordable housing obligations.

Population growth at each individual school and the district wide increase among students with special needs also contribute to the district's need to expand, McCartney said at a forum last week.

The best solution is to build at the William Allen Middle School, where a total of 10 classrooms would have been added to the existing structure, McCartney said. That includes eight new classrooms and the modification of two existing spaces to be transformed into classrooms. The modified classrooms are designed to accommodate a few more students than ordinary classrooms, McCartney said.

The new students coming in could be in any grade level, and the proposal would have modified how grades are grouped in the schools. All third graders would have been moved out of the lower elementary schools into Upper Elementary School, and the sixth graders would move from Upper Elementary School to the middle school.

This would create a system in which grades pre-K through second would attend the three elementary schools; grades 3-5 would attend Upper Elementary School; and a "consistent, true middle school environment" would be created with grades 6-8 at the middle school. There would be no change to grades at the high school.

There also wouldn't be a noticeable difference in the grades in the elementary and middle school classrooms, either, as they would all continue with the specific curriculum for their grade levels, McCartney said.

Read more here: Superintendent Talks Population Growth At Bond Referendum Forum