EDITORIAL: The stars align for the better

Sometimes the stars align for the better.

Any property owner in Long Hill Township, who is given an opportunity to replace the roof on his or her largest of three buildings, and upgrade the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) to include air conditioning where there is not now air conditioning, at no additional cost to the month-to-month budget, would take that deal in a heart beat.

Thats the way Long Hill Township voters should approach the $3.6 million school referendum on Tuesday, March 11, now just 19 days away.

Turns out this project comes at a time when the financial stars are aligning in favor of Long Hill taxpayers.

Heres why: First, this project was approved by the New Jersey state Department of Education, to receive as much as 40 percent of the cost of the project in a matching grant from the state.

It is the same matching grant that Watchung Hills Regional High School received last fall. Voters in Long Hill Township, Warren Township and Watchung voted 1,075 to 607 to approve the $12.5 million referendum to do similar kinds of bread-and-butter property owner-type improvements, like roof replacements, HVAC system improvements, and such. That vote took place on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Not only did the proposal receive voter support overall, it also won voter support in each of the individual towns. Long Hill voters voted 401 yes to 249 no. Watchung voters voted 181 yes to 108 no. Warren Township voters voted 463 yes to 250 no.

No Net Tax Increase

So, getting back to why the stars are aligning for Long Hill taxpayers now, in addition to the state matching grant, the grades K-8 Long Hill Board of Education will use as much as $500,000 from the capital reserve budget. So combining the state funds and the capital reserve funds, the bill for local taxpayers for this particular $3.6 million project will effectively be about $1.4 million.

But wait, Long Hill taxpayers there is more. According to school Superintendent Rene Rovtar, a previous capital project bond issue, roughly equal to this new $1.4 million bill, will be retiring when this projects bonds will likely go out on the market. Consequently, Long Hill taxpayers will see no new net increase in local school taxes because of this improvement project.

Lastly, these improvements address two key needs for the Long Hill School District.

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EDITORIAL: The stars align for the better