A bond referendum is a public vote in which school districts ask voters for permission to borrow funds through the sale of bonds to fund large-scale projects. School districts utilize this financial strategy to generate upfront funding and spread the project costs over time.  

In addition, voter approval of a bond referendum means that a district can tap into special state aid that reduces the amount of debt repaid through local property taxes. This type of aid is only available to districts with voter-approved bond proposals. 

The Mount Olive Township School District is committed to fiscal responsibility, and a bond referendum aligns with our strategy to consistently seek ways to deliver high-quality education at the lowest possible cost. 

The district and board put significant time and consideration into a proposal focused on maintaining buildings and educational excellence. Working together with professional consultants, a community bond referendum committee, as well as staff and administrators, Mount Olive identified top priorities that focus on upgrades to the district’s aging infrastructure, higher enrollment numbers and our evolving educational facilities to effectively prepare students for the modern workforce. 

Proposed projects were determined using that feedback, which will be presented in two questions, consisting of: 

• Updates related to student health and safety at all our schools, and additional space to help maintain small class sizes and support modern educational standards 

• Improvements to athletic and transportation facilities

Our district has decided to pursue a bond referendum on Tuesday, December 12 for several reasons.  

• Upfront funding: A bond referendum allows our school district to generate upfront funds to address infrastructure improvements and instructional needs for our students as enrollment increases and modern education continues to evolve. The Board of Education believes this bond referendum is a financially sound strategy because the district would complete these necessary projects more efficiently than if it were to use the annual budget by taking advantage of state aid and upfront funding, while spreading the costs over time. 

• State Aid: A bond referendum gives access to exclusive state aid to offset the local tax impact, which is only available to school districts with voter approval. 

Timing: The Dec. 12 vote date is good timing because the district recently paid off the last major investment in our schools. The timing allows our district to keep the tax rate steady while addressing repairs and renovations with the assistance of state aid. 

Our district is committed to sharing information with the community leading up to Tuesday, December 12. This website serves as the comprehensive hub of all information relating to the upcoming vote, and we will make further opportunities available to learn more and ask questions. 

• An in-person information forum was held on 11/28. A second virtual information forum will take place on 12/5. It will be recorded and placed on the dedicated website so anyone who is not able to attend can watch the presentations and hear questions from the community. District experts and professional consultants will be on hand to talk about the projects and funding strategy. More information will be posted closer to the date.  

• A townwide postcard was mailed to all households in November. 

• District staff members and volunteers will host information tables at community events.

Meet and greets will take place leading up to the vote. Please reach out if you have a community group that you would like us to speak to regarding the referendum. 

We will use our district social media, local media and printed materials to help the community stay informed of important announcements and updates. In addition, the referendum@motsd.org email address is open to anyone who has questions throughout the process. 

In New Jersey, there are five dates available for school districts to hold elections, in January, March, September, December, and during the general election in November. 

Due to a recent change in the state’s timeline, the district is required to notify the county of its intent to hold a bond referendum 60 days prior to the vote date (74 days before the November election). The required paperwork to hold a referendum was submitted for state review in May and that review was completed in September, making Dec, 12. The next available  vote date. 

Holding the referendum this school year allows the district to capture state aid to address its needs as soon as possible and begin some of the work during the summer of 2024. 

Holding a special election in December comes with certain election-related costs, such as mailing sample ballots, printing ballots, staffing the polling locations, and setting up voting machines. The district carefully planned for this expense and included funds to cover the anticipated cost of a special election in the 2023-24 operating budget. A portion of the costs associated with holding a special election are eligible for state aid if the referendum is approved. 

The projects outlined in the Dec. 12 bond proposal address updates to student health and safety, additional space, and improvements to athletic and transportation facilities. Voters will see two questions on the ballot: 

Question 1 addresses infrastructure updates and upgraded spaces. 

Proposed projects in Question 1 would improve HVAC at every school, including more efficient units to provide heat and air conditioning to our classrooms and shared spaces. An additional multi-purpose room is proposed at the middle school to expand opportunities for students with flexible space for physical instruction and other integrated activities.  Classroom additions are proposed at Sandshore and Tinc Road to preserve small class sizes amidst rising enrollment.  

Question 2 addresses improvements to athletic and transportation facilities. 

Proposed projects in Question 2 would modernize and expand outdated athletic facilities, provide more support for efficient bus service and build future savings on downtime by keeping repairs on site. 

For more school-specific project details, visit our Proposal page.

Through careful research and planning, along with input from the community, the Board determined a bond referendum as the next step to position the district for the future. Proposed projects prioritize the health, safety and modern instructional needs of Mount Olive students. 

The Board has also selected projects to maximize the state aid amount the district is qualified to receive. 

In addition, by selling bonds to get up-front funding for projects that qualify for the most state aid, Mount Olive can capture special funding.  

This key investment at MOTSD could make improvements more quickly than relying on the annual operating budget, and more efficiently than relying solely on the local tax share. 

By including paving of the high school’s parking lot in the bond referendum instead of the annual budget, the district can receive funding from the state to pay for some of the costs. This type of special state aid is only available through a voter-approved bond referenda, and it is not accessible through any other means. 

Renovating the Manufacturing Lab would create a more cohesive program for students to explore today’s career pathways and equip them with a variety of experiences in entrepreneurship, production and delivery. Through enhanced upgrades, the lab’s five rooms would incorporate educational activities that focus on industry standards and tie-ins to local community partners to position students for success in growing industries.

Educational focuses will include, but are not limited to:  

• Research and development through product ideation and design to encourage teamwork, collaboration and problem solving 

• Computer-aided design and programming allows the infusion of technology into the product development process 

• Fabrication that incorporates materials and machine processes using modern techniques and processes along with quality assurance and material science 

• Testing prototypes through assembly, testing and recording of quantitative and qualitative data 

• Printing, packaging, labeling, shipping, inventory management and process evaluation enables students to gain hands-on and process management skills

Small-group instruction rooms are used to help students who need additional support in reading and math, to offer advanced opportunities to students who are ahead of their grade level in a specific subject, or to provide related services such as physical therapy, occupational therapy or speech.  

These spaces benefit students by giving them individualized attention as well as flexible and differentiated learning to encourage academic growth. Teachers are able to better gauge students’ understanding, provide timely feedback and tailor lessons to focus on the students’ individual needs.

Our district is proud to provide the school community with an enriched learning curriculum that includes extracurricular activities to support our students’ growth and success. Our robust athletics program has 31 competitive teams with 1,365 student-athletes. About 52% of the student body participates in athletics. 

The new athletic trainer area would expand treatment and rehabilitation options for student-athletes. The current space is tight, only accommodating a limited number of student-athletes each day. The only treatment that can be given in this space is taping. The athletic trainers need more space to treat more students and give options for rehabilitation.

Redistricting would require reconfiguring the boundaries for our schools’ sending areas to shift some students from one building to another. Right now, there is not enough space in any of our buildings to accommodate an overflow of students. It is not part of the Board’s plan as MOTSD focuses on the immediate situation facing our district. It is the Board’s responsibility to provide educational space to accommodate all students who are enrolled in the schools. The process to reconfigure is lengthy and at this time, is not part of the Board’s plan to address the district’s space needs. 

The estimated total cost of the proposed improvements in both questions is $61.8 million. That estimate includes professional fees, permitting, material costs and other expenses that support the projects. It also includes a cushion calculated by the district’s financial advisers to account for market fluctuations and contingencies. State aid is expected to reduce the local share by $11.5 million, or about 19%, of the total project costs.  

Full funding details can be found here.

By doing these projects as part of a bond referendum, the district qualifies for a type of state aid that it would not receive otherwise. This state funding is collected by taxpayers across New Jersey and only distributed to schools that receive voter approval through a bond referendum.  

If both questions are approved by voters, Mount Olive would receive $11.5 million in state funding, toward the total project costs of $61.8 million. For our community, that’s like getting 100% of the improvements while new state aid pays 19% of the costs. 

With state aid reducing the local share, the estimated tax impact is less than $28 per month for the average assessed home ($322,121) in Mount Olive Township if voters approve Question 1 and Question 2.  

If voters approve Question 1 only, the owner of a home assessed at Mount Olive’s average would pay about $23 per month. If Question 2 is also passed, that same homeowner could expect to see an additional $5 per month in school debt tax. 

For further information, check our Funding page.

The school district recently paid off the last major investment that voters approved to make improvements at Chester M. Stephens. For the average home, the annual payment for that project was about $200 per year until it was paid off in January 2023. Continuing that level of investment could be compared to a family who pays off one car, then redirects that car payment to another car purchase or home improvement.  

If both questions in this referendum are approved by voters, the owner of a home assessed at the Mount Olive average of $322,121 would see a yearly increase of $328.12 (about $128 more than taxpayers were paying toward the last investment).

The cost of the projects would be spread over 25 years among all residents and businesses that pay property taxes. 

If your home’s assessment is different than the Mount Olive average ($322,121), you can estimate your level of investment with a calculator.  

• If voters approve Question 1, the tax impact per $100 of assessed property value is currently $0.085. Personalize your estimated impact by multiplying your property’s assessed value by 0.00085 to find the annual tax impact. (As an example: $500,000 x 0.00085 = $425 per year or $35 per month.) 

• If voters approve Question 2, the tax impact per $100 of assessed property value is currently $0.017. Personalize your estimated impact by multiplying your property’s assessed value by 0.00017 to find the annual tax impact. (As an example: $500,000 x 0.00017 = $85 per year or $7 per month.) This is in addition to the amount for Question 1. Question 2 can only go into effect if Question 1 is approved by voters. 

Market value is a home’s potential sale price, while assessed value is typically a significantly lower figure and is used to determine tax bills. 

Your home’s assessed value appears on your tax bill and can also be found in this tax assessment database. 

Title I is a state funding program. Its funds are used to promote academic excellence, enhance educational opportunities and equity for children and families, and to improve the quality of education in schools. In Mount Olive, Title I funds go directly toward costs related to academic programming, including paying the salaries of staff members. These funds do not cover infrastructure or construction projects like the ones proposed through the bond referendum. 

The Board is not permitted to spend any more than what is specified on the ballot to complete the projects (no matter the source of funds) without obtaining additional voter approval. The Board is only allowed to spend money on the projects approved by the voters. If the projects are complete and there are remaining bond proceeds, that money has to be used to reduce the local tax rate that is earmarked for debt payback. 

The district cannot spend more than the amount of money approved by voters in a bond referendum. The district, in partnership with financial consultants and its architect, has thoroughly researched the proposed projects and their associated costs and has included a contingency amount in the estimated total. That cushion takes into variable market conditions for costs of materials and labor and interest rates. If actual costs exceed what voters approved, plans will have to be adjusted to fit the budget. 

If the referendum is not approved by voters, the district will still face the same infrastructure and facility needs, but will have to address them without the advantages of $11.5 million in state aid and upfront funding. Projects would need to be spread out over many years to fit costs for repairs/improvements within the regular budget.  

The district must stay within the state-mandated 2% cap on annual tax revenue. That leaves the Board with choices of funding these repairs/maintenance at the expense of our instructional program, or asking voters to approve a budget increase beyond the 2% cap.

Each year, the district completes maintenance projects and upgrades with funding sources outside the regular operating budget. Some projects have been funded through the district’s Capital Reserve. This is funding already collected through local property taxes that the Board of Education set aside in anticipation of these needs. Other projects are being completed through state grant programs. 

The district has been able to allocate funding from outside the regular annual budget toward these projects over the past eight years: 

• A full interior renovation at Tinc Road School 

• A partial renovation at Sandshore School 

• A library/media center wing at Mountain View School 

• A security office at the middle school 

• Two of three phases of interior renovations at Chester M. Stephens – the last phase will be completed over the next year 

• Heating, ventilation and air conditioning projects at the middle school with the assistance of state grant funding

Bonds do not have a specific interest rate the same way someone might secure a loan before purchasing a car or buying a home. They are sold for the best bid on the public bond market. Because of that, the district won’t know the precise interest rate until it has public permission to sell the bonds. Mount Olive Township School District works with advisers who closely watch the bond market to determine an appropriate estimate of total costs. The financial advisers have conservatively estimated the interest rate to accommodate some fluctuation in the bond market. Additionally, bonds can be refinanced – just like a home mortgage – if rates fall in the future. 

Mount Olive Township School District has consulted with financial advisors who made conservative estimates on the interest rates that would be available following an approved referendum. That strategy ensures enough of a range to cover potential increases.   

If rates turn out to be lower than estimates, the cost of borrowing would be slightly lower and, therefore, so would the amount to be repaid and so would the local tax rate.

In addition, a seven-year call provision on the bonds will be issued, so if rates decrease, they can be refinanced at that time. 

The Mount Olive Township School District bond referendum will result in a tax increase to cover the cost of proposed projects if both questions pass. The State of New Jersey offers a property tax reimbursement program known as "Senior Freeze." It protects some senior citizens and people with disabilities from having to pay higher taxes on their homes, and that is true not only for this school board referendum but for other taxes. More information, including the income requirements to qualify for this program, is on the state's Senior Freeze webpage.

To vote on the December 12 referendum, you must be registered to vote in Mount Olive Township and your registration must display your current address and name. 

If you are not registered to vote, or need to update your name or address on your registration, you must do so by Tuesday, Nov. 21.

To determine if you are registered to vote, go online to this site and fill in your identifying information. Then choose “search.”  

To register to vote online, you will need your NJ Driver's License (or official state ID) and your social security number. Go to this website, answer some basic questions and submit the information. Remember, you must register 21 days prior to the election date; in this case, by Nov. 21. 

You must be a registered voter to receive a Vote By Mail ballot. If you have voted by mail before, you may automatically receive a ballot in the mail a few weeks ahead of the Dec. 12 vote. You may confirm that by calling the County Clerk’s Office at 973-285-6066.  

Learn more about Vote By Mail on our Voter Info page.

See a sample of the ballot on the Morris County Clerk's website.