Toms River Schools Referendum: East Dover Elementary

Voters in the Toms River Regional School District will be heading to the polls on Jan. 22, where they are faced with the question of whether the district should spend $147 million to make upgrades, critical repairs and address a multitude of issues.

Among the questions people are asking is what it will mean for each of the schools. The district held information sessions Jan. 3, 7, and Jan. 8 discussing what is involved in the Rebuilding Our Schools initiative. A page on the school district's website is dedicated to the project as well.

Of the $147,148,269 package, the state will cover $47,281,593, leaving $99,866,676 to be paid by district taxpayers, Business Administrator William Doering said.

In Toms River, the additional debt service would cost taxpayers $11.80 per month, or $141.65 per year, for a home assessed at the township average of $272,400. In Pine Beach, on an average assessment of $267,900, it would cost $11.06 or $132.72, and in South Toms River, the cost would be $6.04 per month, or $72.52 per year, on a home assessed at $165,200. For Beachwood taxpayers, it would cost $8.06 per month or $96.75 per year on the $203,600 average assessment.

You can see how much it would cost you based on your home assessment on the tax calculator on the district's website.

Here is how East Dover Elementary School would benefit. The following is the list of projects planned at the school, which opened in 1954 and is 65 years old. It serves 720 students and 134 staff members and is home to the first Makerspace in the district's elementary schools. Also included are the costs.

Photo via Toms River Schools