HILLSDALE—By a nearly 2-1 margin, local voters defeated the $82.7 million school bond referendum to replace the century-old George G. White Middle School, despite a continuous communication and outreach effort for months by school officials to make the case that a new school was needed for local students.
Late on Tuesday, March 14, Borough Clerk Denise Kohan told Pascack Press that unofficial vote numbers showed the “yes” or “no” vote to replace the middle school at 1,947 votes against and 1,114 votes in favor. Approximately 63.7 percent voted no and 36.3 percent voted yes.
On March 15, Superintendent Robert Lombardy told Pascack Press, “I am personally disappointed by the outcome of the referendum because it means delaying a solution for what many, many people acknowledge as a problem for Hillsdale. But beyond me, I know that this comes as a blow to the Board of Education, our citizens committee, the staff and most of all the students and families who will be contending with the conditions at George White for another three to four years.”
He added, “That is the timeline for rethinking options, developing plans, getting state approval, scheduling another referendum, and hopefully finishing whatever work emerges as Hillsdale’s next best thing.”
Lombardy said the district’s “immediate next steps involve listening to residents about what they want in a middle school, and what they are willing to pay for. As I said numerous times over the past six months, George White is an example of the can being kicked down the road. Voters did that again on Tuesday.”
He said, “We can look at the cheaper options that patched up the building and added the bare-bones space GW needs to accommodate its population. We can look at the even cheaper option that patched up the building without improving the educational environment.”
He said, “The question of when and how to kick that can will fall to the Board of Education. However, what we have known for years is that the kinds of sweeping changes that building needs, not to mention additional classrooms, cannot be paid for from the annual operating budget. Another bond referendum is likely in Hillsdale’s future.”
Kohan said the unofficial vote tallies included mail-in ballots received by March 14. She said official results would be released on March 27.
At 9:48 p.m. Tuesday night, Lombardy emailed Pascack Press with a general statement issued to Hillsdale families regarding referendum results and posted online.
“The Board of Education thanks the Hillsdale community for casting their votes. We will review the end results of this referendum, listen to feedback from the community, and then discuss how to determine the best path to meet Hillsdale’s present and future needs,” he said.
Nearly 30 percent of local voters turned out for the referendum vote, almost double the turnout for most school board elections and referendums that average closer to 15 percent. The large turnout occurred despite a day-long Nor’easter that delivered wind-whipped snow and rain throughout the day.
Recent editions of Pascack Press have featured letters to the editor from a handful of residents urging the referendum’s defeat, including former mayor Doug Frank. Some residents have opposed the referendum’s $82.7 million price tag and tax increases, saying not enough consideration was given to lower-cost renovation options.
District officials, however, have said the middle school needs to be replaced, and further renovations are only “Band-Aids” to major structural problems with a 100-year-old school.
Some residents also previously criticized the district for a lack of transparency about bond referendum options.
District officials disagreed, noting the Road to Referendum web portal, video, multiple open houses, and a dedicated email for residents to get answers to school bond questions. (See “Referendum Outreach Is Focus Ahead Of March 14 Vote,” Michael Olohan, Feb. 27, 2023, Pascack Press.)
Since January, district officials have ramped up public outreach, holding two public middle school tours, a virtual Q&A forum, and released a four-minute-plus video on the need to replace the middle school due to its physical, mechanical and educational deficits.
School officials have estimated the bond’s tax impacts would average approximately $1,140 annually, or $95 per month on Hillsdale’s average home assessed at $474,172. The tax impacts would likely be in the 2024–2025 tax year.
School finance officials had also said bond costs were likely to be refinanced over its 30-year term, reducing the tax burden on residents. Had the bond referendum been approved, the district would have received $5.4 million in state aid to construct a new middle school.
Following consideration of several lower-cost options to renovate existing facilities, the school board voted unanimously last June to support replacing the middle school with a new state-of-the-art facility, rather than renovate the aged facility and relocate students for up to two years in temporary trailers that would be located on a nearby recreational field.