Roselle voters reject both questions in $87 million school bond referendum

Roselle voters rejected both parts of an $87 million school construction referendum Tuesday, turning down plans for a new elementary school and improvements to existing buildings in a special election marked by turnout of just over 6%.

Unofficial election-night results from the Union County Clerk’s office showed voters defeating Question 1 by 568 votes to 469, or 54.8% to 45.2%, with all 19 districts reporting.

Question 2 was considerably closer, failing by 17 votes. The unofficial tally was 522 votes against and 505 in favor, or 50.8% to 49.2%.

Question 1 was the centerpiece of the Roselle Board of Education’s proposal. It sought authorization for a $79.7 million project that included construction of a new school on Chandler Avenue for students in prekindergarten through second grade.

Question 2 proposed about $7.4 million in improvements to existing district facilities, including school security upgrades, makerspaces, renovations to the Abraham Clark High School auditorium, and creation of a transition center for young adults with special needs. Under the referendum structure, Question 2 could take effect only if voters also approved Question 1.

The combined estimated cost of the projects was $87,044,201. The district said the projects would have qualified for approximately $9.2 million in state debt-service aid, while state lawmakers had pledged another $1.4 million toward referendum-related costs.

The defeat means the district will not receive voter authorization to borrow the money contemplated by either ballot question.

Low turnout decides costly proposal

Only 1,047 ballots were cast among Roselle’s 16,585 registered voters, according to the election-night report, for a turnout of 6.31%.

Less than three percent of Roselle’s registered voters supported the bond referendum, a result seen as a sign of disapproval toward Schools Superintendent Nathan Fisher and Business Administrator and Board Secretary Stephen Lewis.

There were 1,037 votes recorded on Question 1 and 1,027 on Question 2.

The special election was held separately from the November general election. Polls were open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Roselle’s regular polling locations, and residents also had the option of voting by mail.

The results remain unofficial pending the counting and certification process.

District said new school was decades overdue

Fisher, Lewis, and other Roselle school officials had presented the referendum as an opportunity to address overcrowding and outdated facilities while obtaining state assistance that would not be available for projects paid for through the district’s regular budget.

The district said some of its youngest students are educated in rented, aging buildings, including third-floor classrooms without bathrooms or adequate storage space. Officials said Roselle had discussed construction of a new school since 1967.

The proposed Chandler Avenue school would have served pre-K through second grade and allowed the district to reorganize grade levels throughout its schools. Under the plan, students would have attended fewer schools as they progressed from pre-K through high school.

The district also proposed adding security vestibules and reinforced doors at schools, converting classrooms into makerspaces, renovating the high school auditorium and creating space to help young adults with special needs prepare for independent living and employment.

District officials said growing pre-K enrollment and new residential development were adding to the need for additional classroom space.

Cost and financial oversight drew scrutiny

The referendum also generated opposition from residents who questioned its affordability and whether the district had demonstrated sufficient financial controls to undertake an $87 million capital program.

Dr. Yvan Ducheine, a longtime Roselle resident and president of the borough Board of Health, publicly opposed the proposal before the election. He acknowledged that the district needed additional space but argued that officials should concentrate on academic performance, chronic absenteeism and other educational problems before undertaking such a large construction project.

Many critics focused on the proposed property tax increase. District figures indicated Question 1 would cost the owner of a home assessed at Roselle’s average of $122,763 about $720 more per year, while Question 2 would have added roughly another $48 to the annual property tax bill.

Educator Marie M. Dupont separately raised questions about the district’s financial controls and called for greater disclosure of the total interest expense, long-term local obligation after state assistance, protections against cost overruns, and the governance structure that would oversee the projects.

Dupont said before the election that acknowledging the district’s educational and facility needs did not eliminate the need for financial scrutiny.

Her concerns included the district’s selection of Steven A. Lewis as school business administrator and board secretary and questions surrounding his previous employment in Willingboro and Hackensack. The Roselle Board of Education had not publicly responded to those concerns before the referendum, according to reporting before the vote.

Voters split more sharply on new school

The results suggest voters distinguished between the referendum’s two components.

Question 1, dominated by the nearly $80 million Chandler Avenue school project, lost by 99 votes. Question 2, covering the smaller package of renovations, security improvements and instructional projects, fell short by only 17 votes.

Because Question 2 was legally contingent on passage of Question 1, however, approval of the second question alone would not have authorized those projects.

The election-night totals also show how a relatively small number of residents determined the fate of one of the borough school district’s largest proposed capital investments in decades.

Fewer than 1,100 people cast ballots in a community with more than 16,000 registered voters.

For Roselle Public Schools, Tuesday’s vote leaves unresolved the issues that prompted the referendum in the first place — including rented early-childhood classrooms, security improvements, aging facilities and the district’s stated need for additional space.

What comes next will return those questions to the Board of Education, which must decide whether to revise the construction plan, seek other sources of funding, or eventually ask Roselle voters to consider another proposal.