$20M school bond bid goes before Bogota voters. Here's what that would pay for

BOGOTA — Borough voters will be asked next month to decide on a $20 million bond measure for new school district athletic fields, art classrooms, science labs and media centers, and the renovation of a former Masonic lodge to use for a technical studies program.

School officials say the improvements are necessary for the growing district, which has experienced a jump in enrollment in recent years, and whose aging school buildings first opened more than a century ago.

“We have grown a considerable amount in the past couple of years. A lot of families have moved into town,” said Damian Kennedy, the schools superintendent. “The opportunity is here now. There are a lot of good things we can do with this.”

The bond proposal, which will be on a special referendum ballot March 14, will be split into two questions.

The first question asks for $12.7 million, with $4.3 million covered by debt service aid from the state, for new auditoriums, classrooms, labs, bathrooms and electric and other infrastructure upgrades.

Officials hope to use about $4 million to renovate the former Masonic lodge on Palisade Avenue near the high school that the district bought for $750,000 in 2021. That building would house technical programs, such as culinary arts, automotive, electrical, plumbing or information technology.

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The last time Bogota passed a bond measure for its schools was in 1998, when voters approved $10 million for renovations to Lillian M. Steen School.

That loan, which was refinanced in 2005, is coming off the books in July. If question one is approved, it is designed to result in a net zero increase for Bogota taxpayers, who have been paying an average of $18.80 a month for the improvements covered under the last bond measure.

Question two would provide another $7.2 million for new athletic fields. Roughly $2.1 million of that money would come from state aid. The owner of a home assessed at the borough average of $263,500 would pay about $184 a year, over the course of 20 to 25 years, Kennedy said.

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The success of the district's sports programs is limited by the current athletic facilities, school officials said. The existing fields near the Hackensack River suffer from flooding, and a lack of lighting prevents practices from being held after dark.

The money would fund new fields with drainage improvements that could be used by multiple sports, grandstands and a track. The fields and track would be open for use by the community, said Frank Miranda, the borough's Board of Education president.

“It’s a win-win for everyone, in my opinion,” he said. “This is an opportunity, but it's not the board’s decision, it’s up to the people.”

The district has grown considerably over the past few years, Miranda said.

In March 2021, 1,158 students were in Bogota classrooms. By the following spring, enrollment had grown to 1,229, and as of last month, nearly 1,300 students attended district schools. There are two elementary schools, a middle school and a junior/senior high school.

Many young families from New York and other cities, who were looking for more space and a backyard for their children to play in, moved to Bogota during the pandemic.

In January 2019, the borough began offering a free prekindergarten program. The initial four pre-K classes have since expanded to 10, in public school buildings and through partnerships with private child care providers.

That program, coupled with Steen’s recognition in 2020 as a National Blue Ribbon School, helped attract people to the district, Kennedy said.

If the referendum proposal passes, school officials plan to redistribute grades among the school buildings to keep class sizes manageable.

Under the plan, children in pre-K through second grade would go to Bixby Elementary School and Steen would serve grades three to six.

The former St. Joseph Academy, which the district has leased and used for sixth and seventh grades since the Newark Archdiocese closed the school in 2020, would be used as a middle school for seventh and eighth graders. Bogota Jr./Sr. High School would house grades nine through 12.

“This would help reduce class sizes and would spread it out more evenly,” Kennedy said. “The goal was always to get the seventh and eighth graders out of the high school. In my opinion, they grow up too fast when they are all together.”

Borough residents who are not registered to vote have until Feb. 21 to register to participate in the referendum next month.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bogota voters to decide on $20M school bond for upgrades