STATE OF DISREPAIR
Hamilton District calls special election seeking $55.4M building upgrades
HAMILTON » It comes down to democracy and willingness to pay.
The aging public schools in Hamilton Township are riddled with maintenance issues, and local voters in September will determine whether the Hamilton Township School District takes comprehensive and costly action to repair, upgrade and secure the facilities.
The district wants to issue $55.4 million in bonds to finance critical repairs for all 24 of the district’s public schools, including nearly $10 million of renovation work at Nottingham High School, nearly $9 million of upgrades at Hamilton High School West, nearly $5 million in proposed fixes at Grice Middle School and nearly $5 million of facility improvements at Reynolds Middle School. Every public school building in this 40-square-mile township needs at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in repair work, according to the district’s bond proposal.
The Hamilton school board on June 28 passed a motion calling for a special election to be held between the hours of 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Sept. 26. Assuming the state approves of the special election, Hamilton voters in September will decide whether the district appropriates and issues bonds in the amount of $55,393,658 to finance the districtwide facility improvements.
If voters approve the referendum, the average township resident of a home assessed at $214,300 would pay an additional $52.30 in annual school taxes, according to the district.
The district has 17 elementary schools, three middle schools, three high schools and a facility for the Hamilton Educational Program known as the HEP Wiley School, and all 24 of these facilities would receive building improvements if voters approve the referendum.
A recent demographic study presented at last month’s school board meeting shows Nottingham High School currently has an overcapacity problem where its student enrollment exceeds the building’s assessed capacity. Nottingham is projected to remain over or close to capacity over the next five to 10 years.
The school board at the June 28 meeting voted 7-1 to call a special election in September, where the referendum question will be placed on the ballot for voters to decide. School board member Anthony Celentano voted against the motion. Every other board member voted for the motion except for Susan Lombardo, who was absent.
The estimated cost of repairing the school district’s facilities increases the longer the district delays implementing building improvements. For example, the district last year said it would cost about $53.7 million to implement districtwide improvements at all of Hamilton’s public schools, but the critical fixes are now estimated to cost about $55.4 million largely because the district postponed its special elections plans.
The district originally considered a Jan. 24 special election for a referendum but failed to get its procedural ducks in a row in a timely fashion and ultimately decided it would be better for legal reasons to proceed with a Sept. 26 special election.