Rejected by voters twice, Freehold Boro Board of Ed moves to borrow $33 million for school construction
Superintendent of Schools: Referendum would have passed if illegals could vote
Residents are asked to comment after voting twice
By Caitlin Brown, Contributor
Despite two rejections by voters, the Freehold Borough School District has decided to move forward with plans to force taxpayers to borrow $33 
million for the financing of state of the art construction and renovation to the district’s current schools, in order to cope with the influx of undocumented residents to the borough and the subsequent overcrowding of 500 additional students to the school district.
The Board of Education has decided to appeal to the New Jersey Comissioner of Education for the appropriation and authorization of the school bonds, but are required by State Department of Education guidelines to provide a public comment period for residents, open until June 8.
The referendum in dispute was first rejected in September and again in December, by residents who balked at the bond referendum’s total cost of $32,902,400. The proposal calls for bonds of $22,091,500 for the construction of additions to the Park Avenue Elementary and Intermediate School, including: an additional cafeteria; an additional gymnasium; four new classrooms; an additional girls’ locker room; renovations to five existing classrooms; renovations to one of the two boys’ locker rooms; and a new library/media room, as a result of the existing library having been converted due to lack of space elsewhere into cubicles for special needs and ESL learning, according to the district’s superintendent, Rocco Tomazic. A total of $10,633,300 is also being sought for the building of 13 pre-K and kindergarten classrooms at the Freehold Learning Center, as well as renovations to the cafeteria and a new kitchen receiving area, according to the district’s referendum schematic plans.
Posted: May 31st, 2015 | Author: admin | Filed under: Education, Freehold, Monmouth County, Monmouth County News | Tags: Caitlin Brown, Commissioner of Education, Freehold Boro, Freehold Boro Board of Education, Freehold Borough, Freehold Borough School Referendum, Gianna Dell'Omo, Monmouth County News, Public Comments, Rocco Tomazic, School Construction Funding | 7 Comments »