These Somerset County residents will see ballot questions in November's election
While there are no statewide questions on the Nov. 7 general election ballot, two of Somerset County’s largest school districts are asking their residents to pass referendums designed to resolve longstanding issues.
In addition, Manville residents will be asked to join Somerville and Bound Brook residents in selling its sanitary sewer system to New Jersey American Water.
Bridgewater-Raritan
For more than a decade, the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District has pondered whether to start a full-day kindergarten program.
Bridgewater-Raritan is one of only 10 districts among New Jersey's 593 school districts that does not have a full-day kindergarten program.
In 2022, voters in Montgomery and Rocky Hill narrowly approved the creation of a full-day kindergarten program by a 3,892-to-3,849 margin.
The cost of implementing the program in Bridgewater-Raritan is $2.46 million which includes 15 general education teachers, two special education teachers, two custodians and transportation costs.
The estimated one-time property tax cost is $53.24 for the average Bridgewater homeowner and $41.63 for the average Raritan Borough homeowner.
Advocates of a full-day kindergarten say passage of the referendum will allow Bridgewater-Raritan to stay in step with its peer school districts and enhance learning opportunities that will have a long-term impact on students' achievement as they progress through the system.
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Passage of the referendum will also give all Bridgewater-Raritan students, regardless of their economic status, an opportunity to have the benefits of a full-time kindergarten that will prepare them for later academic success, supporters say.
If the referendum is defeated on Nov. 7, that will effectively defeat the second question in a referendum in March.
That question, which passed in March, approved the construction of an addition and renovations to Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School to create a traditional grades 6-8 middle school that would also free up space at the elementary schools for the implementation of a full-day kindergarten program.
Voters also approved the first question on the March referendum for capital improvements throughout the district.
The total cost of the March referendum is $155 million with an $113 million cost to taxpayers after state debt service aid.
Hillsborough-Millstone
The slogan for the referendum states its goal: "Build Boro Back."
The referendum is asking residents to approve funds to restore staff positions that were cut because of continuing state aid cuts.
While most school districts throughout New Jersey have seen increased state aid, Hillsborough has been hit hard by cuts. Since the 2018-19 school year, the district has lost more than 50 positions because of the funding cuts.
The first question on the referendum asks voters to approve a $934,636 increase in the property tax levy to create a districtwide, K-12 security department. The district now has no employees who are security personnel.
The money would fund 10 positions, including a security supervisor, health benefits, uniforms, personnel costs outside contracted hours and working at events.
The second referendum question asks voters to approve an $1,901,880 increase in the property tax levy for the purpose of reducing class sizes and adding program offerings, interventionists, and mental health support.
The money would fund five teachers at the high school – math/computer science, English, biology, business and American Sign Language.
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The added teachers would lead to decreased class sizes. According to the district, students have been turned away from computer science classes in the past two years, class sizes in biology and English classes are approaching 30 students and up to 240 students have been turned away from taking business classes.
Four teachers would be hired at the middle school for art, music, industrial tech and family and consumer science. That would reduce class sizes in those classes to about 22 students.
In addition, a Spanish teacher would be hired at the middle school also to reduce class sizes.
At Auten Road Intermediate School, the funds would cover an intervention teacher, a computer science teacher, a student assistance counselor and a gifted and talented specialist.
In the elementary schools the referendum would approve a gifted and talented specialist, three intervention teachers and a board-certified behavior analyst.
The money would also fund a districtwide school psychologist.
The district's webpage has a calculator so property tax owners can determine how much their tax bill will be affected if the referendum is approved.
For example, if both questions pass, the tax increase on a Hillsborough home assessed at $500,000 would increase $185 while the tax bill on a Millstone home would increase $125.
In Hillsborough, the school tax rate has decreased from $1.461 per $100 of assessed value of a home in 2022-23 to $1.391 in 2023-24. If both questions are approved, the tax rate would still decrease to $1.428.
In Millstone, the school tax rate has decreased from $1.072 per $100 of assessed value of a home in 2022-23 to 90 cents in 2023-24. If both questions pass, the overall tax rate will still go down to 93 cents.
The tax rate in the two municipalities decreased because property assessments, based on market value, have increased.
Manville
Borough voters will decide whether to sell Manville's sanitary sewer system for $6.5 million.
If approved, New Jersey American Water, the prospective buyer, will also make $10 million in capital improvements to the system over a decade.
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New Jersey American Water has also agreed to no sewer rate increase in Manville for 2024, a 2% increase in 2025, 3% each in 2026, 2027 and 2028 and 4% each in 2029 and 2030. The rates require final approval from the state Board of Public Utilities.
The $6.5 million from the sale will be used to pay off Manville's debt.
Voters in Somerville and Bound Brook have already voted to sell their sewer systems to New Jersey American Water.
If Manville voters reject the sale, the borough will begin the process to immediately raise rates to fund the necessary capital improvements and maintenance.
New Jersey American Water, a subsidiary of American Water, is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing water and wastewater services to approximately 2.8 million people.
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Somerset County NJ election questions
