29-01-2025
Mendham borough voters approve $20M school referendum. What's it mean for local tax bills?
Mendham borough voters went to the polls on Tuesday and overwhelmingly passed both portions of a nearly $20 million school district referendum to fund repairs, upgrades and a new auditorium.
Preliminary results posted by the Morris County Board of Elections shows a 701-203 vote in favor of the first question to authorize $9.96 million worth of spending. About $3.4 million of state aid is available to offset that cost. "High priority" projects funded with the passage include renovations to a library, science lab and heating systems at the two school buildings in the K-8 district.
Hilltop School also would get a security vestibule for entering the building. Mountain View Middle School already has one.
The second question authorized an additional $9.33 million in expenditures, but only if the first question passed. It passed with a vote of 601-300. Those funds will be used to construct an auditorium at Mountain View for a district that hasn't had one since a 2001 referendum funded work that necessitated the demolition of the last auditorium there.
'On behalf of our district administration and the Board of Education, I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to community members for taking the time to learn about this proposal and voting,' Superintendent Mitzi Morillo wrote in a statement following the vote.
With the pending retirement of debt from a 2001 referendum, residents would have seen a small decline in their annual school taxes if only the first question passed, the district said.
With both halves of the referendum approved, the monthly tax bill for the average homeowner will increase by $22 a month, or $264 a year, over the 25-year term of the bonds issued to pay for the referendum. That's based on the average assessed home value in the borough of about $690,000.
The new debt would not be assessed until the previous bond is paid off in July 2026, at which point the increase will kick in.
More: Morristown councilman runs for NJ Assembly. Can he flip a seat in GOP stronghold?
"Mendham Borough School District will now take the next steps," the district announced in its statement. "Our professional consultants will begin by selling the bonds at the most favorable rates. Architects and engineers will prepare project specifications for the bidding process. Contracts will be awarded to the lowest qualified bidders, per state regulations. The district will continue to keep the community updated throughout this process."
The K-8 district serves nearly 500 students. Mendham borough and township high school students attend West Morris Mendham Regional High School.
The vote awaits certification by the Morris County Clerk after mail-in and provisional ballots are counted.
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Mendham borough voters OK $20M school referendum. What's that buy?
