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Wednesday, December 10, 2003
By Brian Arrington barrington@sjnewsco.com
WOODBURY HEIGHTS -- The $15 million bond referendum designed by Garrison
Architects to upgrade and expand Gateway Regional High School was overwhelmingly
approved by voters by a 2-1 margin Tuesday.
The measure was approved 997 - 465.
Absentee ballots have yet to be counted and the election still needs
to be certified before the results are official, said Superintendent
Joyce Stumpo.
"We were surprised at the turn out," she said. "It was
an overwhelming vote of confidence for their schools."
Residents from Woodbury Heights, National Park, Wenonah and Westville
-- the towns in which students of the 40-year-old school attend -- voted
on the referendum which will fund several projects like air-conditioning
installation, a parking lot enlargement, sport facility upgrades and
additional classrooms.
The measure passed in all four towns, according to Gateway Regional
Business Administrator Gar Keepers.
Gateway officials said the state will pay $6.2 million, or 41.5 percent
of costs, to help lessen the taxpayer impact of the projects.
Based on National Park's average assessed property value of $81,806,
residents there would pay $99.87 annually to fund renovations. In Wenonah,
the owner of a home assessed at the borough average of $161,061 would
contribute $177.55, while Westville owners of properties assessed at
$86,291 would pay $92.81. Woodbury Heights homeowners would pay $129.17
based on the average assessed property value of $140,401.
Construction on a 15,900-square-foot addition, parking spaces and athletic
facility upgrades could begin this summer and be completed by September
2005, Stumpo said.
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