Princeton School District Calls For $17.5M Bond Referendum

PRINCETON, NJ — Many Princeton residents may have received a mail-in ballot for a special election on Jan. 25. Voters will be asked to approve a $17.5 million bond referendum to finance urgent repairs and improvements at Princeton Public Schools (PPS). The district is hoping to install new roofing at all six schools and replace outdated rooftop HVAC equipment.

Before considering the impact of debt service reductions from previously issued bonds, the new 20-year bond is expected to increase annual taxes for residents. For a property assessed at $830,000, the owner will pay $117 the first year, $262 the second year, and then $65 the remaining 18 years.

But the increase in taxes will be offset by a reduction in costs as the Board hopes to pay off other bond referendums, said Matt Bouldin, Business Administrator and Board Secretary, during a press briefing on Monday. PPS is expected to pay off $5.6 million in annual debt service over the next two years.

"We've been looking at front-loading a little bit of the debt on this potential referendum, which would save us close to $500,000 over 20 years," Bouldin said.

“It's fiscally prudent and it will help to smooth out the taxes over the next couple of years. But everything that we do is a forecast at this point in time. We're developing the budget right now.”

Bouldin said the school district was trying to keep debt service no higher than “our high watermark of two years ago.”

The district will install new roofing on all schools over a period of four years when students are not in school. If the bond issue is approved, work would begin in the summer of 2022.

PPS commissioned a roof audit and according to the report, the roof at many schools had an end of life five years ago, Board president Beth Behrend said. "And then there's a number of them that are going to be out of date next year,” she said.

Board Vice President Dafna Kendal said that over the past few years, the condition of the roof at schools had “deteriorated.”

“Little Brook school has 35 patches on its roof. And then, we have some other schools which have similar deterioration on the roof. So, it just happens that we knew it was going to be an issue, which is why the Board commissioned the study,” Kendal said.

In addition, funds will also be used to repair and replace gutters, fascia, and skylights at Johnson Park, repair aging masonry on the Princeton High School Tower and install new siding to address deterioration and mold concerns at Riverside and Littlebrook.

Later on Monday, Behrend and Bouldin also appeared during the Princeton Council meeting to present the referendum.

The school district will be holding a referendum information session for the public on Wednesday, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. To join the webinar, click here.

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