SCOTCH PLAINS/FANWOOD — Voters in Scotch Plains and Fanwood on Tuesday rejected a bond referendum which would have financed the purchase and expansion of a new school building in Fanwood that would have been used for elementary-school students.
According to unofficial results early on Wednesday morning, voters rejected the $81-million bond to finance the purchase, refurbishment and expansion of the 35,000-square-foot First Children School building by a 52-percent to 48-percent margin. A second referendum question for a $34-million bond to finance upgrades to the HVAC, electrical and fire-alarm systems in the district’s eight school buildings was approved by a 54-percent to 46-percent margin, but it had been stipulated in advance that the first question had to be approved in order for the second question to go forward. It was estimated that a few hundred mail-in ballots — not enough to turn the tide — were yet to be counted.
The $115-million price tag for the two bonds would have been offset a bit by state aid amounting to $14.9 million — with $3.5 million earmarked for the purchase of the building and $11.4 million going toward the upgrades to the schools.
The raw vote totals were 3,220 votes in favor and 3,520 opposed on Question 1 and 3,626 in favor and 3,099 opposed on Question 2. Voters in both Scotch Plains and Fanwood rejected the first question and approved the second.
School district officials had promoted the purchase of the school building as a way to solve what was said to be an increasing student population that has led to overcrowding in the elementary and middle schools. Opposition to the bond centered around its cost and effects on local property taxes, increased traffic around the new school and whether the new facility was actually needed, given some of the dueling projections regarding future student population.
The mood at the board of education offices on South Avenue was quiet on Tuesday evening as about two dozen referendum supporters waited for board officials to tally the votes. Superintendent Joan Mast, Ed.D., at 8:30 p.m. said it was “a nail-biter” while the counting continued. Shortly after 9 p.m., Board of Education President Evan Murray emerged from an office, laptop in hand, to report the results to the disappointed gathering.
“At this time, it appears that the referendum did not pass,” Superintendent Mast said in a statement late on Tuesday night. “Election officials will continue the process of counting every vote. Thank you to everyone who invested in learning about the referendum and voting. We value the community’s input.”
