A bond referendum is a vote in which a school district asks voter approval to borrow funds by selling bonds. Property taxes are used to buy back the bonds, with interest, from the investors who bought them. Bond funding can only be used for large-scale improvements, and that is one way it is different from the annual budget that funds day-to-day operations such as salaries, supplies and regular maintenance. 

Bonds are like IOUs. They can be sold, like a company would sell stock, so a public organization can get funds to make improvements that would last for years. Bonds are bought back with interest. A school district uses property taxes for those buy-back payments. For a school district, selling bonds and paying them back over time is like the way a homeowner might take a loan to renovate a kitchen or make other upgrades. 

The regular property tax is designated for the operating budget, which means those taxes fund the everyday costs of running the entire school district. A small amount of that funding is used each year for capital improvements, and some of it is saved over several years for large projects. However, the cost of solving the middle school’s challenges is much too large to fit into that budget or to be saved over several years. Selling bonds provides money quickly and spreads the costs over many years. 

The entire Hillsdale community and its residents benefit from having a strong public school district, whether or not they have children attending. When people look for a place to live, public schools are one of the top considerations.

The 20-year payback plan means residents would contribute only when they are benefiting by living in Hillsdale. Many current homeowners would move away in that time frame and pass the cost of a modernized middle school to new residents.

GW’s Media Center was renovated about eight years ago and is proposed for only cosmetic touches in this referendum. The Gymnasium is also proposed for improvements that are closer to cosmetic than renovation.

All students at GW, which would be reduced to grades 6, 7 and 8, would attend classes in modular classrooms during the construction. 

Safety was top of mind during the preliminary planning stages. An existing perimeter fence would likely be enhanced. Lighting would illuminate the areas around the modular campus and Special Law Enforcement Officers (SLEOs) would walk through the area regularly. Magnolia Avenue would remain closed during the school day. Just as teachers currently are stationed in hallways as a layer of security, that practice would continue as students may walk to counselor’s offices and restrooms.  

Simply put: The same security measures that are in place for the school building (defined perimeter, controlled access, staff awareness/observations) would be in place for the modular classroom campus. 

The new modular classrooms would be newer and larger than the current classrooms. The campus would include one room for restrooms that are less likely to have plumbing issues than the school’s regular restrooms. For Hillsdale, the plan calls for 26 modulars to be positioned on the current GW athletic fields.

• Each grade’s classrooms would be near each other, creating hubs. 

• Raised, aluminum walkways with handrails would connect classrooms. 

• One modular would contain separate, multi-stall restrooms for each gender. 

• One or two rooms would be designated for administrative functions and student support services, including the school nurse. 

• The site plan designates rooms for art, music, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math); a media center; and specialized instruction at each grade level for small groups of students.

The professionals guiding the plan to modernize the Middle School have a long history of school construction, and they considered various options for renovating all of GW – including one level at a time or one quadrant at a time. The primary architect summarized that process by saying nothing was impossible, but decisions were made with cost and time in mind. Renovating GW in phases would raise the price by 25% to 35% and extend the time by a year or more.

The district has budgeted for the rental of refurbished, rather than new, modular units. Because so many schools use these temporary classrooms, manufacturers routinely take them back, thoroughly clean and reset them, and lease them to another customer. 

Each modular classroom would have a heating, cooling, and ventilation system, and each would be connected to a power supply. Not all will have plumbing connections, as that would raise costs and duplicate the nearby restroom modular unit. 

Constraints and challenges are not “once in a while” events at GW. Persistent, daily disruptions include: 

• Students are learning in science labs that are dated, and GW needs one more lab to better meet enrollment needs. 

• There is no dedicated space for STEM — the blending of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. 

• Music instruction takes place on the stage of the busy multi-purpose room for bands and in a small space behind the stage for chorus. Neither is adequately sized or acoustically appropriate. 

• Students wait in line daily to eat lunch in the cafeteria that also serves as a Gym and stage. It lacks air conditioning, and it lacks the lighting/sound systems necessary to meet all the needs of that well utilized space. 

• The small nurse’s office is an open space that lacks privacy for those experiencing illness/personal needs. 

Some challenges crop up from time to time and/or require very tight management to avoid the disruption of operations. 

• The lack of instructional space restricts the ability to schedule courses; there is no flexibility because classrooms are full every period of the day. 

• The old heating and electrical systems are not energy efficient, which strains the budget, and repairs are difficult due to the age of the equipment. 

• Restroom sinks, toilet stalls and urinals are frequently closed in restrooms due to malfunctions. 

Once the Cafetorium is demolished and being renovated, the students would have lunch in the Gymnasium. While the gym is not as large as the current Cafetorium, the GW student body would be smaller with fifth grades at the elementary schools. 

The current Cafetorium – which combines cafeteria service and an auditorium stage – is undersized for the 500-plus students at GW. Renovating it would require significant work and cost nearly the same as rebuilding a slightly larger space. Plans call for a larger kitchen for lunch preparation, a full-sized stage, and separate rooms for orchestra and chorus programs. (Music instruction is currently held in a former storage closet behind the stage.) The stage would be at the opposite end of the room than its current location, and that would serve two purposes. The main entrance would be from the back of the room, rather than near the front of the stage. And the music rooms would be right behind the stage for easy access by performers. 

Also planned is the addition of restrooms in this area of the building. That recognizes that GW is a community facility with residents attending shows or playing basketball. The rebuilt Cafetorium will be engineered to function separately from the rest of the school in safety, heating/cooling, and guest amenities like restrooms.

GW is currently pressed for space. Every classroom is in use, which leads to scheduling struggles. The school lacks the kind of versatile spaces appropriate for 21st century learning experiences such as an instructional combination of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The new wing is proposed to meet those needs with three classrooms on the first floor and three on the second floor – including a dedicated room for STEM learning. That would add about 30,000 square feet and connect the main school building and the Gymnasium.

Special education services would continue according to each student's Individualized Education Plan. The transition plan includes two small-group instruction rooms for each grade level as part of the modular campus. The modernization plan specifically includes small-group instruction rooms designed for these kinds of services, whereas the building designed more than a century ago has resulted in converting other spaces for this purpose.

If voters approve the referendum on September 17, Hillsdale school officials estimate that the entire project would take about 30 months to complete. This includes time needed to collaborate with architects, engineers, and financial advisors to put details into a transition plan. It also includes time to establish a modular campus, renovate GW’s interior, rebuild its Cafetorium and potentially build a small addition. Education and safety would be top priority.

• Spring 2025: While students are still using GW for instruction, preparations could begin at the field area for the installation of modular classrooms. 

• September 2025: The school year would begin at the modular campus; the school would be shut down except the Gymnasium. Renovations would begin at GW. 

• September 2027: This is the target for the opening of a new era for GW and the Hillsdale community. As a new school year begins in a modernized middle school, modular classrooms would be sent back to the manufacturer to be refurbished for the next district in need.

• September 2028: This is the target for re-created athletic fields to be ready for use by Physical Education activities and student-athletes. 

Property assessments are determined by the Borough of Hillsdale and sent each year to all property owners. You can find that by searching this database with the property address. Assessed value is the basis for the estimated tax impact. In contrast, a property’s market value is the guesstimate of what it might sell for in the current real estate market. Searching for a service like Zillow.com provides a market value guesstimate. 

The NJ Department of Education oversees the process of public schools using bond funding. School districts can only spend the amount of money approved by voters and only on projects described for the referendum. Bond funding cannot be used for salaries or other everyday operating costs. It can only be used for long-term capital expenses. 

Hillsdale’s annual budget covers costs of day-to-day operations such as salaries, supplies, utilities, and educational programs. There simply is not enough room in the budget for the renovation of the middle school. And, even if renovations were done piece by piece over many years, the district would miss out on receiving state aid to cover a portion of the costs. (Hillsdale would receive $18 million in aid for the renovations proposed in Question 1, pending voter approval.) State aid only comes with bond borrowing – not the regular taxes for the annual budget. 

Question 1 must pass for Question 2 to pass. If voters reject Question 1 but approve Question 2, neither proposal would pass.

Just like a home mortgage, bonds can be refinanced if rates improve. Our financial advisers consistently seek cost-saving opportunities, including more favorable interest rates. Like other costs associated with this plan, the initial bond borrowing is done through a competitive bidding process to ensure the best deal for the district. Competition for the best rate is a benefit for taxpayers, especially when costs have been shifting. 

Bond-funded school improvement projects get significant oversight from the state Department of Education. It reviews all architectural plans and cost estimates, then continues monitoring actual construction and fees. If costs are less than anticipated, state law requires the district to return all unused bond proceeds to the taxpayer in the form of lower taxes. 

One reason there is significant state oversight for bond-funded school improvement projects is to prevent costs from far exceeding estimates. From the initial stages, those estimates are examined to be sure they are not too rosy. The estimates also include a contingency amount that accounts for spikes in things like material costs, gas prices, and interest rates. 

The estimates are rooted in two known factors: School leaders have relied on expert consultation to develop their plans, and state law prohibits the district from spending more than the amount on the ballot. 

In the unlikely event that actual project costs exceed bond revenue, the district would search for more efficient means of achieving the referendum’s overall objective and/or reduce the scope of work. The Board of Education stresses cost efficiency with its professionals. 

The needs of GW are the most pressing improvements at this time. By comparison, Smith and Meadowbrook Schools are in fair condition. Those buildings will still need upgrades as time goes by. One way HPS can pay for those is through a fund known as Capital Reserve. Those funds are slowly built up from part of the regular tax levy and do not meet the needs of ongoing costs of replacement and refurbishment. They are entirely separate from any bond-related tax and are specifically earmarked for large-scale, long-lasting improvements (not daily operating expenses such as salaries or supplies). In fact, HPS has a five-year Capital Reserve plan to replace roofing at the elementary schools. That Capital Reserve account will never be large enough for the kind of complete renovation that GW needs, but it can cover smaller costs. 

The borrowing capacity of a New Jersey school district is limited by several factors, including the total average equalized value of property in that district. This could be compared to an individual consumer's credit limit. For the 2023 proposal to build a new school, Hillsdale Public Schools would have needed to use some of the borough's ability to borrow. (That would not have affected the borough's daily operations and the borough would not have taken on any of the debt.)

There have been two important changes since that referendum. First, the school district finished paying off its only debt. That increased its capacity to borrow. Second, the total of property values in Hillsdale rose. That also increased the district's capacity to borrow.

For the bond proposal on the Sept. 17 ballot, HPS has enough borrowing capacity without using any of the borough's "credit limit."

For a home assessed at Hillsdale’s average ($476,107), a homeowner would see an increase of $58 a month if Question 1 passes and less than $12 a month if Question 2 passes. This estimate takes into account the $18 million in state aid for the renovation project and the “net” result compared to a tax decrease in 2023. For the owner of a home assessed at the borough’s average, that tax decrease was about $108 per year.