A referendum is when a school district requests an over 2% tax increase and it needs to be supported and voted on by the community.

The New Providence Board of Education presented a referendum at a July 2022 meeting that requested $17 million dollars for district wide improvements. These improvements include HVAC for all district schools, furniture upgrades, and general building improvements. 

Since the founding of New Providence High School in 1957, efforts have been made to keep the building maintained and taken care of. Unfortunately, due to weather and general deterioration, some parts of the schools don’t have much time before they need to be replaced or it’ll become a safety issue.

In the past, students and parents have complained about the lack of air conditioning, and more recently it has become about the current air quality in the schools. Since COVID-19 and the pandemic, people have been increasingly concerned about the air quality and whether it can contribute to an increase in COVID-19 cases. After years of only select classrooms having air conditioning, such as the STEM rooms in the High School, the referendum would make every room in the schools air conditioned. This part of the project makes up a lot of the price, but the current units need to be replaced soon because HVAC may become more expensive in the future. Improvements included in adding HVAC to the schools would be to replace current heating and ventilation with combo heating and air conditioning units.

Dr. Miceli, the Superintendent of the New  Providence School District said: “The current systems are from the 50s or 60s, and as you’ve probably witnessed, they’re not the most modern.” 

A portion of the funds requested is paid for through the Debt Service Aid, which is when the government loans an amount of money, in this case around $6 million, and the district pays them back over a period of time. This is paid for with the property tax increase. The original price was $22 million for all projects included in the referendum, but with the debt service aid, it is around 16-17 million dollars.

This referendum is set to increase property tax by $217 from its current price. 

However, as Miceli explained:  “When the referendum from 2006 is paid off, the tax increase will change from $217 to $52.” 

Miceli said that the referendum could have been delayed until the 2006 referendum is fully paid, but “the reason we are going out with this earlier, three years in advance, is because we are worried about the age of the HVAC system and it will probably take anywhere between two or three summers”

If passed, these projects should begin and be completed in the summer of 2023, except for the HVAC, which will start in the summer as well but may take up to 3 years to fully complete.

If the referendum isn’t passed at this vote, the BOE will either review the referendum and make changes involving the projects or wait until the 2006 referendum is fully paid off and the tax increase is lower. 

Miceli stressed the importance of voting by 18 year olds within the district at the upcoming election:  “They have a voice in this, and sometimes they forget, and I don’t blame them because they’re still students, but at these elections we always encourage their involvement”. 

The $17 million dollar referendum is to be voted for on November 8th, 2022. The election is being held in person, but voters also have access to the drop box for mail ballots. This vote will take place from 6:00AM- 8:00PM.