Manasquan wants voters to approve $13.8M for schools. Here's what it would pay for.
MANASQUAN — For the third time in six years, Manasquan taxpayers are being asked to approve a multi-million-dollar school improvement plan.
But school officials promise it will not increase taxes, and in many cases will lower them for local homeowners.
“This referendum is debt neutral,” said Superintendent Frank Kasyan. “The cost of debt service is going down.”
The proposal includes $13.8 million worth of improvements for district schools, with most of the funds benefiting Manasquan Elementary School.
The ballot measure will go before voters in a special election on Jan. 24, with polls open from Noon to 8 p.m.
“It’s very positive, it is being timed to be as fiscally responsible as we can be and maximize the state aid to the district,” said Board of Education President Alexis Pollock. “These projects are being done at a time when they will not have an impact on that share of taxes.”
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If approved, the bond would impact the average home assessed at $639,000 with a debt burden of $465 the first year and different amounts each year through 2050.
But district officials point out that most taxpayers would see a reduction from the $519 average debt burden last year, and that portion of the taxes would not increase through the life of the bond.
“For the life of the repayment of the loan it will not go higher than that,” said District Business Administrator Peter Crawley.
The debt burden would be reduced because the previous debt from other projects and portions of two earlier referendums approved in 2017 and 2019 have been paid off.
The 2017 referendum for $12 million funded new science labs, while the 2019 ballot measure for $8.64 million went toward HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and fire alarm upgrades at the high school.
More than $10 million of the new referendum would go toward renovations and upgrades at Manasquan Elementary School, which serves students from Pre-K through 8th grade.
Those projects include:
Renovation of 15 classrooms in the PreK-4 wing of the school including new ceilings, paint, flooring, casework and furniture
Additional toilets in two classrooms to accommodate future pre-kindergarten or kindergarten classes.
Renovation of the art room with collapsible separator and doors
Science lab renovations including new casework, furniture and lab accessories.
Gym renovations, including a new wood floor and locker room renovations including new floor, paint, lockers and fixtures.
New windows behind the stage in the music suite.
Replacement of the primary playground with inclusive play elements and rubberized surface
Removal and replacement of blacktop adjacent to the baseball field.
Replacement of walls with waterproof sheeting, flood vents and new doors to a storage area.
The elementary school will also receive a building-wide HVAC replacement for air quality improvement, improved door security and a card reader in the Pre-K-4 wing to improve security, and technology upgrades.
Kasyan said the HVAC replacement is critical as a safety need and air quality improvement requirement.
“I think the parents all realize it is necessary, from the science labs to the roof to the HVAC,” Kasyan said. “And the numbers add up. If not now, when? It’s all got to be now.”
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Another $2.3 million of the funding will go toward improvements at Manasquan High School, which serves local students as well as many from seven so-called “sending districts.” Those include Avon, Brielle, Belmar, Lake Como, Sea Girt, Spring Lake, and Spring Lake Heights.
The high school upgrades include: band room renovations including lighting, floors and furniture; boys and girl locker room improvements, including new epoxy flooring, painted walls and gypsum board, ceilings in office spaces, and lockers.
In addition, the high school would receive a partial replacement of a 1930s-era slate roof, brick re-pointing and control joints, water heater replacements, and technology upgrades
Some residents have raised concerns about the referendum following last year’s construction of a $5.5 million field house at the high school that is being financed by a Manasquan municipal bond.
Through a shared-services agreement that allows the building to be used by school athletics and by the municipality for community activities, the district is paying off the bonds at a rate of about $250,000 per year through 2048.
“I would hope that people would focus on the specific projects on the referendum,” Pollock added. “These are projects that have to be done.”
Kasyan said some residents have asked why the field house was built in 2022 if the HVAC and other needs were more pressing.
“We were always looking at the HVAC,” he said. “It happened that the opportunity for shared services with the municipality arose because they needed it, we had the land, and it was perfect.”
Joe Strupp is an award-winning journalist with 30 years’ experience who covers education and several local communities for APP.com and the Asbury Park Press. He is also the author of three books, including Killing Journalism on the state of the news media, and an adjunct media professor at Rutgers University and Fairleigh Dickinson University. Reach him at jstrupp@gannettnj.com and at 732-413-3840. Follow him on Twitter at @joestrupp
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Manasquan asks voters to approve $13.8 million in school improvements
