STATE DEVELOPMENTS CAUSE BRICK SCHOOLS TO PULL THE SCHOOL REPAIRS REFERENDUM AND TURN TOWARD ENERGY SAVINGS
The School District is Now Developing an Energy Savings Referendum to Reduce Tax Burden
January 7, 2010 – Brick, NJ – The Brick Township Public Schools Board of Education and school administration will not move forward with a referendum for school repairs in March of 2010. In an attempt to generate funds that make up for the loss of state aid and decrease local tax impact, the board and administration are now developing an energy savings referendum. Specifically, this new referendum will offset the taxpayer share of upcoming school budgets as done with the help of solar panels on Brick Memorial High School and as done in other local districts. The board and administration are currently working on the referendum details. Discussions include incorporating items that immediately translate into money savings for the district such as the introduction of more solar panels on school buildings and addressing the replacement of outdated mechanicals with more energy efficient equipment. It is hoped that this energy savings referendum will be presented to the voters as soon as April of 2010.
“The recent news from the state, including the predictions and uncertainties of what funds may now not be available to us, as well as the community’s feedback and concerns, are what drove our decision to halt the referendum for school repairs at this time,” says Mr. Daniel Woska, President of the Brick Township Board of Education. “There is still a great need for repairs to our district school buildings. The Board of Education is very committed to the projects proposed in the September referendum. This is why we decided to first focus on an energy savings referendum in an attempt to decrease the tax burden being passed down to us by the state and generate the additional revenue needed to make building repairs before conditions worsen.”
News from the State of New Jersey has not been good. The state is looking at forcing school districts to use reserve funds to offset losses in state aid. The School Development Authority has also put a freeze on construction grant money. The district has received word that there are questions around receiving construction grants for those districts that both have and have not passed their school repair referendums to date. Although the school buildings are in much need of repair, these state developments make a March school repairs referendum an impractical venture for Brick at this time.
As the Board of Education and school administration further develop the April 2010 energy savings referendum and 2010-2011 school budget, full details will be made available to the public and press as soon as possible. Please contact the Office of Community Relations at 732-785-3000 X-1070 or dsilvestri@brickschools.org with any questions you may have as well as to coordinate all interviews regarding this matter.