Haddonfield voters will consider $46.7 million school bond referendum, the largest in 25 years

Haddonfield School Superintendent Chuck Klaus has a long wish list: adding full-day kindergarten, making nearly century-old buildings more accessible, and changing the configuration of every school.

Voters will decide on Tuesday whether to approve a $46.7 million bond referendum that Klaus believes will help transform the South Jersey school system. It is the district’s largest bond referendum in 25 years and would raise local property taxes as much as $369 a year for a typical borough homeowner.

Haddonfield and Burlington Township in Burlington County are the only districts in the state with referendum questions in Tuesday special’s election, one of five times during the year that school boards may ask voters to approve a bond issue or special question.

If approved, the Haddonfield referendum would finance improvements including additional classrooms at Haddon, Central, and Tatem Elementary Schools; and roof, flooring, and window replacements, fire-alarm system upgrades, and auditorium renovations at the middle and high schools.

Klaus said the district, which has about 2,700 students, expects enrollment to reach more than 3,000 by the 2028-29 school year. That number could grow with pending development projects, he said.

“We are expecting to see more students coming,” Klaus said.

Klaus said the top priority is making district buildings — with an average age of 80 years — fully ADA-compliant. For example, an elevator would be added at Haddon Elementary, while an art room would be relocated to the first floor. Currently, those unable to use the stairs must exit the building and reenter at another level to access the room.

Haddonfield also wants to add full-day kindergarten at the neighborhood schools. The district, among the wealthiest in the state, is one of only a handful of public school systems that do not have full-day kindergarten. Although not mandated by the state, kindergarten has been shown to improve academic achievement.

Having full-day kindergarten would provide more instructional time, or the equivalent of an additional 71 school days, according to the district. Students would get more time for math, social studies, science, and literacy lessons, as well as structured playtime.

Every school in the district would benefit from the referendum, according to the district. The A-Wing at Haddonfield Memorial High, where performances are held, would get new seating in the auditorium to accommodate those with physical disabilities.

The high school’s athletic complex would get a new gym, wrestling room, and restrooms, as well as lighting for the turf field. With the upgrades, the facility could be used by youth groups and the community.

» READ MORE: N.J. school bond proposals and other questions will appear on Tuesday’s ballots

Haddonfield has been working on the bond referendum for about two years. The board made presentations and held public meetings and a town hall to inform residents about what is at stake in Tuesday’s election.

A bond referendum question can be a tough sell to voters because they typically are accompanied by a property tax increase. They allow districts to pay for projects that cannot readily be funded through their annual operating budgets. The state is expected to contribute $9 million for Haddonfield’s projects.

“I believe that it represents what is necessary and inevitable for our district,” said Maureen Eyles, a third-generation resident and president of the Haddonfield Educational Trust. “The schools are what make Haddonfield so special and preserve our home values.”

Walter Weidenbacher said he believes residents should have been presented with a referendum that allows them “to pick what they want to pay for” instead of bundling the projects in a single ballot question. He plans to vote against the measure.

“I don’t want to pay more taxes to support the things that I think are unhelpful,” Weidenbacher said. He also wants more transparency in how the district budget is presented.

Klaus said the referendum has been incorrectly linked to a controversial project to redevelop the Bancroft site adjacent to school property to meet the borough’s obligation to build 10 affordable housing units, and he worries that may confuse voters. Yard signs around town about the housing development and preservation of open space urge residents to “Save our schools.”

“These are two separate issues,” said Klaus. “We don’t know what is actually going to happen at Bancroft.”

Chris Maynes, founder of the Haddonfield Encouraging Responsible Development group, which created those signs, said the signs were made before the referendum was announced.

Maynes’ group supports the affordable housing construction but wants to preserve some of the open space at the Bancroft site and filed a lawsuit seeking to block the borough from building 120 luxury apartments there.

Maynes wants the borough to build the 10 affordable housing units as soon as possible and take more time to develop a plan for the remainder of the parcel. His group has taken no position on the school referendum, and he remains undecided.

“When I go in the voting booth … I don’t know which way I’m leaning,” Maynes said.

Haddonfield voters last approved a school bond referendum in 2016, for $32.5 million for repairs, renovations, and HVAC upgrades. The district has had five bond questions in 25 years, with one failing in 2013 on purchasing the Bancroft property.

Burlington Township has two proposed questions for improvements totaling $37 million at its high school and annex, middle school, and elementary schools. The proposed projects in the first question include renovating the high school cafeteria, roofs, HVAC systems, restrooms, science classrooms, and student lockers.

The second question asks to fund athletic field improvements at Burlington Township High, including new synthetic turf and scoreboards. Fountain Woods Elementary also would get athletic field improvements.

The projects proposed in the second question would go forward only if voters approve the first ballot question, said school business administrator Nicholas Bice. The state would cover $11.9 million.

If both measures are approved, only about $6 would be added to the tax bill for a home assessed at the township average of $235,067 in the second year only of the bond, Bice said. There would be no increase in subsequent years because other debt service will expire, he said.

“We’re hoping it passes, but we will see what happens,” Bice said.