School-By-School: Freehold Regional's Proposed $14.46M Referendum

FREEHOLD, NJ - The Freehold Regional High School District is proposing a $14.46 million referendum slated to include paving and roofing projects at six high schools in the district. Voters from the district’s eight municipalities will be able to vote on the plan during the Nov. 2 general election.

At an April 29 school board meeting, Assistant Superintendent for Business Administration Sean Boyce noted that the referendum will include a $14.46 million plan known as Priority 1, with additional Priority 2 works requiring $9.376 million worth of attention within the next three to five years.

Priority 1 and Priority 2 projects total $23,836,000 in improvements, although Priority 2 items are not included in the referendum. Instead, the district is exploring ways to generate additional revenue in the years to come in an attempt to offset costs of future needs, such as those in Priority 2.

Here’s what the $14.46 million Priority 1 referendum entails:

P1 Partial Paving Replacement: $5,019,000

• Colts Neck High School: $1,296,000
• Freehold High School: $543,000
• Freehold Township High School: $311,000
• Howell High School: $1,233,000
• Manalapan High School: $946,000
• Marlboro High School: $690,000

P1 Partial Roofing Replacement: $9,441,000

• Colts Neck High School: $3,056,000
• Freehold High School: $45,000
• Freehold Township High School: $2,985,000
• Howell High School: $822,000
• Manalapan High School: $685,000
• Marlboro High School: $1,848,000

P1 School-By-School Totals: $14,460,000

• Colts Neck High School: $4,352,000
• Freehold High School: $588,000
• Freehold Township High School: $3,296,000
• Howell High School: $2,055,000
• Manalapan High School: $1,631,000
• Marlboro High School: $2,538,000

And for the $9,376 million Priority 2 projects:

P2 Partial Paving Replacement: $1,380,000

• Colts Neck High School: $0
• Freehold High School: $280,000
• Freehold Township High School: $740,000
• Howell High School: $360,000
• Manalapan High School: $0
• Marlboro High School: $0

P2 Partial Roofing Replacement: $7,996,000

• Colts Neck High School: $915,000
• Freehold High School: $363,000
• Freehold Township High School: $1,653,000
• Howell High School: $1,932,000
• Manalapan High School: $1,965,000
• Marlboro High School: $1,168,000

P2 School-By-School Totals: $14,460,000

• Colts Neck High School: $915,000
• Freehold High School: $643,000
• Freehold Township High School: $2,393,000
• Howell High School: $2,292,000
• Manalapan High School: $1,965,000
• Marlboro High School: $1,168,000

P1 + P2 School-By-School Totals: $23,836,000

• Colts Neck High School: $5,267,000
• Freehold High School: $1,231,000
• Freehold Township High School: $5,689,000
• Howell High School: $4,347,000
• Manalapan High School: $3,596,000
• Marlboro High School: $3,706,000

Similar referendum proposals were rejected by voters in November 2018 and 2019. If the referendum question does not pass in 2021, Boyce said that repair funds will have to be allocated from the district’s operating budget. Read more: Freehold Regional High Schools' Referendum Fails By 890 Votes

The board has already approved the project applications and has submitted the applications to the New Jersey Department of Education for applicable debt service aid.

According to a meeting resolution, district administrators will “take all action required to preserve the opportunity to present the projects to the voters via a bond referendum at the school district election to be held on Nov. 2, 2021 or such other date as may be available to the board.”

The district board is set to finalize the referendum question at the Aug. 26 meeting.