HILLSDALE—The results are official: Nearly 37% of local voters cast ballots in Hillsdale’s $82.7 million school bond referendum to replace the century-old George G. White Middle School with voters turning thumbs down by a final vote of 2,001 against, 1,180 in favor.
The final vote totals were certified March 24 by the Bergen County Clerk’s Office.
Following unofficial results on March 14, before provisional and final mail-in ballots were counted, the referendum was defeated by a margin of 1,947 votes to 1,114 votes. When the final ballot tallies were in, final results showed 54 additional votes against and 66 more in favor.
Asked March 28 about his reaction to the bond’s defeat two weeks after polls closed, superintendent Robert Lombardy said a new plan to move forward will be formulated.
“As we have shared via our in-person meetings,website, virtual forum, building tours and many conversations the setting at George White is in need of significant upgrading and additional space. The Board of Education’s most recent referendum question provided a solution to this long talked about problem that was forward-thinking and minimally disruptive to students,” Lombardy said.
However, he said, “We have heard the voters and will work on a new plan that draws in a variety of different stakeholders because the challenge remains that George White is out of space and outdated, and the can cannot be kicked down the road much farther.”
The next school board meeting is April 24 at 6 p.m. at Meadowbrook Elementary School.
Overall, voters defeated the bond proposal with 63% voting no and 37% voting yes. The bond referendum lost in all six local polling districts, some more heavily than others.
In District 1, 40.24% (472 of 1,173 registered voters) voted with 168 favorable and 304 opposed; in District 2, 31.89% (347 of 1,088) voted with 117 in favor and 230 opposed; in District 3, 35.68% (558 of 1,564) voted with 186 in favor and 372 opposed; in District 4, 33.72% (554 of 1,643) voted with 233 in favor and 320 opposed; in District 5, 39.99% (601 of 1,503) voted with 200 in favor and 400 opposed; and in District 6, 34.98% (588 of 1,681) voted with 244 in favor and 344 opposed.
Mail-in votes totaled 519, or approximately 6 percent, while Election Day voters totaled 30.06%, or 2,601 votes, and provisional votes (63) totaled 0.73%. Of 8,652 registered voters, 3,183 cast ballots, or 36.79% of the electorate.
Generally, school board referendums and elections average a 15-20% voter turnout. Most school boards no longer allow a vote on annual budgets though the state imposes a 2% annual increase “cap” to local school budgets. School budgets average 60% to 70% of local tax bills.
Since January, school officials had ramped up outreach, holding two public middle school tours, a virtual Q&A forum with professionals, and released a four-minute-plus video on the need to replace the middle school due to its physical, mechanical and educational deficits.
Also in September 2022, the district went live with a “Road To Referendum” web clearinghouse on the proposal.
District officials estimated the bond’s tax impacts would have averaged approximately $1,140 annually, or $95 per month on Hillsdale’s average home assessed at $474,172. The tax impacts would have started in the 2024-2025 tax year, officials said.
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.