N.J. district with 103-year-old school needs more than $30M in repairs

The Haddonfield School District is asking voters to approve a $35 million bond for repairs at the borough's schools

HADDONFIELD -- The borough is a month away from voting on a school bond to handle critical repairs at all four of the district's schools.

The Haddonfield Board of Education has studied the repairs for more than a year, getting an expert, in-depth look at issues including structural risks, leakage and other problems.

The board finalized the amount for the bond referendum earlier this year that totals $35,251,250 split between two referendum questions. The district estimates that the state will take about $11.6 million for it's share of the project, leaving the town to pay for the remaining $23.6 million. The average annual assessment is just over $300 per household.

The district's facilities are aging -- the oldest, Elizabeth Haddon Elementary, was built in 1913 -- so the board had to build in a 25-percent cushion had to be built into the project maintenance for unforeseen complications for the project.

The bulk of the money will be spent on repairs at Haddonfield Memorial High School. More than $19 million will be spent to solve issues with the structure, roof and the building's accessibility if voters approve Question One of the referendum, according to the district.

If question one is passed, $1.8 million will be spent on Elizabeth Haddon Elementary School, $4.6 million will be spent on Tatem Elementary School and $3.6 million will be spent on Haddonfield Middle School. The bond funding for Question One is also slated to take care of outdated HVAC, intercom, phone, master clock and data systems for all four schools, according to the district.

Question Two is actually two separate proposals -- 2A and 2B. The first will be for $3.6 million to install central air conditioning in portions of the four schools. The second is for $1.4 million to restore parts of the high school's running track and stadium.

If Question One is voted down, the Question Two proposals will be moot, according to the district.

If the referendum is rejected, the district said the school board will have to figure out how to work around the problems, and would likely have to think about restructuring the bond questions for another vote in September.

The referendum is scheduled for March 8. If the bond passes in the vote, construction is slated to begin in April 2017.