Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1:

• Demolish the existing BOE office and construct a new 2-story (10) classroom addition & BOE offices on the first floor.

• Relocate and reconstruct the school playground with poured rubber surface.

• Additional site work, including regrading and repaving the staff parking lot and installing an underground stormwater pump.

• Replace roofing at both the middle school and high school.

• Restore roofing at the middle/high school cafeteria, weight room, and elementary school classroom wing.

• Replace shingles for the elementary school media center and classroom wing.

• Additional roofing accessories such as new facia, flashings, soffits, and downspouts will also be installed.

Question 2:

• Replace windows in select building areas, including the Pop Vernon Field House with new energy-efficient windows.

If approved, after a 30-day waiting period the district would authorize the sale of the bonds.

At that time the exact length of the bond would be established - it currently appears as if it would be for a 20-year term.

A bond referendum seeks voter approval for the issuance of bonds to finance projects that the District is unable to include in the Board's regular operating budget. Since the introduction of the 2% budget cap on local school boards in 2010, like other districts, we have had difficulty including significant capital improvements in our annual budget. The bond referendum proposed in Riverside would enable us to make these improvements and have a significant portion of the costs covered by state grant funds.

Debt service refers to the annual debt obligations of a school district, consisting of principal and interest payments for previously approved projects. It is a completely separate budget from a district's operating budget (aka General Fund). The General Fund pays for items like supplies, benefits, and salaries. Debt service is fixed when bonds are sold, and it is a separate part of the school tax rate. It is not an optional budget allocation (since voters already approved it).

The total cost for all proposed referendum projects is $16,841,037. This includes all design, architectural, building, and soft costs.

State law has a formula for determining what is needed to provide a thorough and efficient education. All costs related to health and safety, code requirements, or educational adequacy requirements are eligible project costs. New spaces (i.e., new construction) have a less generous formula.

At this time, we are pleased to say that all of the projects are considered "eligible costs."

Yes. The New Jersey Department of Education has determined that the District is eligible to receive State funding. The State funding is only available to the District if the referendum passes.

QUESTION 1: The District expects to receive approximately 45.05% of the total cost from State funding.

QUESTION 2: The District expects to receive approximately 70.11% of the total cost from State funding.

Debt Service Aid is a partial payment of a bond made by the State based on eligible costs and the district aid percentage. This payment is made annually over the life of the bond issue to cover a portion of the cost of principal and interest due each year.

The DAP is the ratio of a district's equalization aid for the General Fund (aid for operating costs) to the District's adequacy budget, but every District is allowed at least 40%.

For the average home assessed at $151,758, the average impact would be 0 cents per day for Question 1 and 3 cents per day for Question 2. You can determine the tax impact on your household by accessing the tax impact calculator on this website.

Much like setting aside some money in your household budget each year to be able to complete a large project in your home, the district has slowly transferred excess surplus into capital or maintenance reserves in order to be able to cover any planned or unforeseen moderate-sized project costs that arise in the future. Over the past two years, the Board of Education has remained fiscally responsible in its spending and has approved a 0% increase in the annual tax levy for both the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years. However, a project of this scale is something the district is not equipped to finance through an annual operating budget and would require many years in order to plan and save for it. State law allows a district to ask voters for approval to borrow funds to take on those projects, and to pay them off over several years through annual Debt Service payments.

The vote will take place on January 24, 2023 from 6 AM to 8 PM.

More specific voting information, including location(s) will be made available to the district and shared on this site around mid-December.

The total for all proposed referendum projects in Question 1 is $ 15,866,037. This includes all design, architectural, building, and soft costs.

The total for all proposed referendum projects in Question 2 is $ 975,000. This includes all design, architectural, and building costs.

The Board believes Question 1 is the highest priority and must pass before Question 2 should go into effect.

Also, the Board is sensitive to the cost impact to the taxpayers and Question 1 represents NO INCREASE to taxes.

Question 2 cannot go into effect if Question 1 fails.

• Student enrollment has increased by almost 12% over the past 2 years (162 new students).

• Creates a more favorable student-teacher ratio per class.

• Improves the management of stormwater runoff onto Grant Street.

• New poured rubber playground will provide a much safer, more durable, and maintenance free environment.

• (Roof replacement/restoration) Eliminates the risk of future unbudgeted roof repair/replacement costs by bringing all district roofing under active warranty.