Hanover Park puts $44M plan to fix aging high schools before voters

At Hanover Park High School, the walkways are rusting and heating pipes have bust. At its sister school in Whippany Park, the roof is crumbling and broken windows dot the facade, according to district officials. Heating systems that date back to the 1950s and 60s periodically fail.

The Hanover Park Regional School District says the schools are badly in need of work, so it's asking voters to approve a $44.4 million plan to make upgrades.

Residents in Hanover Township, East Hanover and Florham Park, the three towns served by the district, will go to the polls next Tuesday, Dec. 13, to vote on the proposal.

Infrastructure in both schools "are original from the buildings’ inceptions and are being used on a continual basis," the district says on its website. "Repairs have become costly; and sometimes, cost-prohibitive. We have now reached the point that we must invest a considerable amount of money to make necessary improvements. This investment is expected to mitigate future costs for the district and its taxpayers."

The district would issue bonds to fund the project, to be repaid over 30 years. But state funding would cover about 40% of the cost if the referendum is approved.

Hanover Park's school repair plans

The money would pay for new roofs, windows and exterior doors and air-conditioning at both schools, according to a summary posted online. Heating and ventilation systems would be repaired and the two buildings would get new security vestibules outside their entrances. At Hanover Park High, a boiler room would be converted into a new STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) lab; a similar lab is already in development at Whippany Park.

About $28.1 million would be spent at Hanover Park and $16.3 million at Whippany.

Impact on taxes

The project would add $20.71 to property taxes for every $100,000 of assessed value for Florham Park homeowners, $28.12 in Hanover and $29.12 in East Hanover, according to school officials.

But taxpayers' actual bills would go down in four of the next five years, they said, because debt costs from previous projects are also coming off the books. According to the district, taxpayers in each town would save anywhere from $1 to $5 a year through 2025 and then about $30 a year starting in 2027 if the referendum passes.

That's based on average assessed values of $366,000 in East Hanover, $425,000 in Hanover and $658,000 in Florham Park.

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How to vote

The district has posted more details on the proposed upgrades, an FAQ, design renderings and other information at www.hpreg.org.

The vote will be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday at polling locations around the three towns, with mail-in ballots also an option. Voters can find their polling places using the state Division of Elections' Polling Place Search site.

Alex Nussbaum is a staff writer and assignment editor.

Email: nussbauma@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Hanover Park schools referendum seeks $44M for repairs