Uh good evening ladies. Uh and uh there's a few gentlemen in the room, but uh good evening and thanks for coming to uh the most recent public presentation for our March 2026 referendum uh information. Uh my name is Brian Bol.
I'm the superintendent here and happy to have our friends here from uh our supportive HSA groups and we're also streaming on the internet. I'd like to be uh I'd like to thank our good friend here Ricky Saiz also for getting us uh
not only uh online uh streaming but also through our our uh YouTube channel as well. Uh so we're here tonight to talk about uh some vision that the board of education has uh and we want to update you regarding some work that the board
uh has been doing with respect to uh the district's facilities uh and their intention to uh make a proposal to renovate uh some of the facilities across our district. Uh we're looking to support uh our educational programs and
we're looking to do so in such a way that we are able to prepare the students that are in front of us every day and the students that come from your homes for careers that don't even exist yet. uh we want to prepare them in um our
classrooms that are rigorous and are relevant and uh really do match uh what our intentions are uh in particular industries. Uh so uh we have developed a um a plan here for the community to
consider and uh that consideration will take place on March 10th of 2026. Uh so we work very closely uh with our architects. We have solutions architecture here uh with us tonight.
Frank Mino is the principal architect uh with solutions and he's been a partner of the district for two years and uh the board has uh directed the administration to work very closely uh with um our partners here from solutions to identify
ways uh that we could uh prioritize facility enhancements that focus on uh safety that focus on security and focus on developing uh rigorous and relevant learning environments. ments for all of the students uh in our charge. Uh we
were also tasked with considering ways to improve uh the existing facilities uh to ensure again that they're safe and that they're functional and that the staff members that work here uh every day and the students that come to us every day and our visitors um have uh
the most up-to-date technologies and processes and facilities in order to um in order to enhance um safety and security. Uh we wanted to improve the student experiences with projects that directly impact students and projects
that directly impact the adults and the staff members that work so closely uh with our students. Again, with the goal of preparing them uh for careers of their choice that may not even exist yet uh in our um in our facilities and in our classrooms. And lastly, the board
asked us to consider ways um to make these recommended improvements while taking advantage of debt service rolling off and expiring from our budget. Uh so there would be a netneutral tax impact for all Somerset Hills communities. Uh
so that was the goal here. Um our priorities uh were vast and farreaching. We we're talking about enhancing our learning environments and tonight you're going to hear from Mr. Vininoio who's going to uh delineate and outline uh what those learning environments
enhancements uh look like and will feel like for the students K to 12. Uh you will hear about student safety and you'll hear about staff safety. Uh you'll hear about some operational considerations and uh some operational non-negotiables that we sought to
enhance inside of um our referendum projects. Uh we are proposing to have a vote to request funding uh for these uh renovations uh in order to enhance um
teaching and learning uh in order to enhance operations in order to enhance uh the day-to-day experiences inside of our facilities. And again, that vote takes place on March 10th, 2026.
We have a operational budget that funds and covers our day-to-day expenses. Uh so what that covers is uh salaries for our employees, uh health benefits for our employees, all of our instructional supplies, all of our utilities, um and
maintenance and other operational expenses. And that gets that gets budgeted on an annual year. And uh we have a general fund uh that has an operational budget that has is limited and is capped on how much it can grow.
And currently um budgets on the on the tax levy can grow 2% on an annual basis. Uh so when your budget grows by 2% uh it doesn't really lend uh to a significant amount of opportunities for enhancements
of of this size and this scope. uh and it does present some challenges to the board of education and uh to those of us that put the budget together on an annual basis to be able to really dive into um many of these projects um in
unison. So, um, to give you a little, uh, kind of take on that, um, by definition purposes, a bond referendum is a community vote. And the bond or the board is asking for the voters, the folks that live in the Somerset Hills
communities to authorize the borrowing of money uh, through the issuance of bonds to finance these capital projects. And uh we chose to pursue a bond referendum uh for a host of reasons. Uh
first and foremost uh the projects that we are proposing are eligible for 29.8% of debt service aid. Uh and that comes directly from the state of New Jersey. uh as an example, if we were to uh
finance these projects uh without going through a public vote and without going through the bond referendum process, we would qualify for 0% of support from the state of New Jersey. So, there's a significant opportunity here to take
advantage of debt service aid and the totality of these projects uh qualify for 29.8% 8% of debt service aid and uh we will um have some discussion about that um as we move through the process.
Uh so that's an important uh reason why to to elect to pursue uh this process. Uh there's an opportunity here to bring taxpayer money back to the community of Somerset Hills. Uh a bond referendum
will also allow the board to spread its costs over the useful life of uh the various projects. Uh it spreads costs over the current uh spread costs uh to be shared with current and future taxpayers that will benefit from the
improvements uh that we seek to uh implement in our facilities. Um our bond payments from a budgeting perspective are outside of the 2% uh operational fund tax levy. So it does give us some flexibility uh in order to uh spend our
act our annual budget on teaching and learning and on um projects and initiatives that directly impact education uh and not on its capital projects. So, um there are a host of reasons why uh pursuing a bond referendum is an advantageous decision
by uh the board of education for its taxpayers. Um so, in light of or in spite of the 2% cap, the board uh and the administration has successfully uh been able to address
a host of facility needs within their op within the operational budget. Uh but the reality is that our buildings and our facilities are aging. Uh the average age is 59 years old. And for those of us that have uh you know the homes that we live in, some of them are very old and
some of them are are getting up to 50 and 60 years old and you kind of understand um the nuances of maintaining uh your homes and maintaining our facilities. uh we have um original roofing systems, doors and other infrastructure items that have reached
the end of their life expectancy and uh candidly we need uh to do more and um that's what the board seeks to do through uh this bond referendum. Uh we have as I as I shared initially expiring debt uh which will result in
savings over the 20-year bond for the for the taxpayers. Uh we're looking to replace existing debt uh as a continued investment to fund these projects um and in order to enhance our facilities and certainly the value of the Somerset
Hills community. Um by allowing us to um finance these these facility improvements over a variety of years, typically a 20-year bond that causes spread over multiple generations. Um again just sharing in um in totality
here we have a graph that you can see uh we will have a total referendum um figure that we are asking the community to support. We are expecting state aid which will decrease um the overall impact of the referendum once um debt
service aid is applied to the districts. So um the current debt service payments will be ending in March of 26 and this new debt will off will this will offset the new debt being assumed as a
continued investment uh under this referendum. Uh we have been approved for $1.3 million in financial assistance from the state. Uh that equates again to 29.8% of savings on these projects. There are some caveats to debt service aid. Uh
first and foremost, um they this must be funded through a referendum and it must be tied uh to the education of children or the maintenance of our facilities. And again, we will have um debt service opportunities to encumber uh in our
budget, which makes um pursuing a um a referendum to enhance our facilities um a uh an advantageous decision. uh going to introduce uh Frank Bino here. He is uh again the principal architect at solutions architecture and
uh he's going to talk about uh the process that solutions underwent and he's going to talk about uh a variety of uh projects and again we will have some discussion about uh economics uh towards the end of this presentation. So, thank you all uh for those of you that can
make it in person and for those of you that are following online uh and streaming uh for um attending tonight, Frank, thank you. >> Good evening everyone. Frank Msino. Uh so, we'll go through the process. We'll
go through the projects and we'll talk about what makes this referendum important for uh the district. So, this didn't happen overnight. these ideas. The the point of the referendum didn't happen overnight. It started in the summer of 2024 where we came in and did
a facilities evaluation for the district. We evaluated each of the buildings in the district and looked at what the needs were from not only a facilities infrastructure standpoint, but from an educational standpoint as
well. From November 24 to January of 25, we evaluated the needs. We began to explore potential referendum that would address these projects given the amount of the the projects that the cost of the projects that would be entailed. While
considering the retiring debt that helps us to offset the tax impact, we met with the administration, the superintendent, the staff, the board, and we evaluated classrooms, classroom renovations uh all at aimed at improving the efficiency and
uh critical upgrades for the district. In February of 25, we prepared conceptual designs for these classroom renovations and other educational renovations. We also establish budgets and uh look to associate these projects
all considered in taking advantage of the 34% in debt service aid that's available to us. Um in February of 2025 we completed the facilities assessment. We shared that with the board. Um we shared our recommendations for the most
uh the largest priorities or projects. The report unto itself identified some $75.7 million worth of work that could be could be undertaken in order to improve uh the four buildings in district. However, obviously that's a
large number and the district worked to pair down the number pick the biggest priorities for the district so that we would have a referendum that was palatable for the communities. Uh we in March to May uh we finalized the de department of education submission and
we secured district approval for these projects along with that $11 million in debt service aid that offsets the total cost of the referendum. So this process has been ongoing. It's something that's been well thought out and has been uh in collaborative collaboration with the
district. So the district um as Dr. Brochial said has continued to do projects out of capital budget. They've continued to try to maintain the facilities and upgrade the facilities to be able to provide a a fit educational uh program here and they do that out of
capital reserve or their capital budget. However, they do so without that debt service aid that we were talking about. Some projects that have been completed have been the media center renovations at the middle school, performing arts center, lighting and sound upgrades, synthetic turf field at the high school
stadium, running track and field events upgrades, athletic sports lighting, lower field renovations, tennis court upgrades and resurf surfacing. It's impossible for this district or any district to do the significant amount of work that needs to
be done all out of the capital budget and stay below your 2% cap. So, uh, but they're making every effort and every attempt to take care of the buildings as need be. So, we're going to talk a little bit about the proposed projects and what's included. Um, we tend to
break our projects down by category. So, we want to talk about some of the areas that are affected by the referendum. And if you look at the first three, they are enhanced learning environments. Arts, learning, and wellness. Those are classroom spaces that need to be addressed. Safety, um, it goes without
saying, uh, student and staff safety has always been important for the district. We want to make sure that we continue to improve upon the safety systems that are in place. And then operations. Operations and maintenance. These are the things that you may not see. They are behind the scenes. They're not big
and flashy, but they are critical to keeping a building running. And we want to make sure that we continue to pick up and take care of the maintenance items so that the buildings run smoothly. We also wanted to look at some referendum priorities that had to do
with exciting projects that would enhance the students experience, projects that specifically impact the students and staff uh in the classrooms. So we specifically looked at science labs, chemistry, bi biology and physics,
STEM labs and technology classroom space, media center upgrades and renovations, kindergarten classroom renovations, special education and the stars program renovations. We also look to create a new culinary arts classroom,
something that currently doesn't exist, a virtual visual uh arts classroom renovations. So we've looked to hit a variety of instructional spaces and improve upon them for the students. There are also capital projects and those projects that will occur at all
schools include the following. Upgrading and expanding camera systems and implementing school notification and lockdown systems. That's going to occur at all schools. Providing a new secure vestibule and lockdown uh capabilities
uh at the elementary school. This includes doors and hardware as well as a security office. Providing ballistic window film at all schools. Uh this would occur at all lower level windows and it would keep the the glass the glazing together long enough to allow
first responders to get here. Provide much needed replacement of leaking and deteriorated roofing systems. the building envelope, which is the roof and the windows. It's very important because if there's breaches in the roof and it leaks, it causes more problems inside,
additional operational and maintenance costs. So, we want to take care of those systems to keep the building envelope um sound. We're going to replace uh the buildingwide fire alarm systems at the middle school and elementary school. We
have bleacher replacements to meet ADA compliance at the high school, at the main and lower gym. And then we're going to enhance the school community through spirit and branding and installing graphics at core spaces such as cafeterias, multi-purpose rooms, gymnasiums, and corridors. So, they'll
all get a facelift, but without the heavy lift of doing construction, it'll be a lowcost, high impact uh facelift. So let's talk about the educational projects that occur at all schools. Um as you can see this is an overall plan
the interior cafeteria level. Uh this includes a renovated stars program and adding a culinary arts classroom which you can see um which you can see in this area here maybe.
Okay. So, in this area here, we have our renovated stars area uh and a new culinary arts classroom. We are creating three equalsized uh classrooms uh that will be for science, one
biology, and two physics. We are also modifying and renovating our STEM and manufacturing technology into existing art classroom space. Um, we are also renovating one classroom and a storage room into two history classrooms
on that level. And we are taking the technology classroom space and converting that into uh visual arts and 2D art in those areas. on the uh interior main level. We are
also renovating uh three chemistry labs and prep rooms and one physics lab in this area. And we're creating three equalsized biology labs with new prep rooms uh on the bottom. On the second floor in the interior,
we're renovating the existing wing uh that currently houses TV and technology rooms. We're going to create a new broadcasting studio as well as two STEM two new STEM classrooms and one general classroom. Here you'll see the need. These are
images of what the existing spaces look like. They are older and outdated. The furniture is inflexible. Uh it goes dates back to an older older teaching style where the rooms are not as flexible as they are in today's curriculum.
And this is an idea of what those spaces could look like in the future. Again, flexible, movable furniture. Desks can be moved and reconfigured into various uh positions to support the curriculum. Uh power and data requirements are updated. Uh and the spaces are
modernized so that the curriculum can grow with the design. These are the existing art and 2D art classrooms which are older and inefficient as well. uh older furniture, lack storage space, lack technology and uh power requirements. These are going
to be renovated into new technology, robotics and manufacturing labs. And here's an idea of what those spaces can look like. Again, a robotics table, uh technical and computer area, uh workstations in the back. So there's a
variety of different spaces within that overall room that will allow the curriculum to expand as well. Here we have our existing uh art and uh 2D art classrooms which will also be converted
into our uh um robotics classroom and uh technology lab. And they'll relocate the old art rooms. And this is an idea of what those art classrooms can look like re-imagined. Flexible furnishings, changeable layouts, everything's on
wheels, everything can be reconfigured, plenty of storage, plenty of power and data requirements for the classrooms. Our existing home living and student store will be renovated uh for greater efficiency and layout as well as to make space for that new culinary arts
classroom. And this is an idea of what that culinary arts classroom could look like. Again, perimeter uh workstations for cooking, but an open and flexible floor plan. It could be reconfigured for teaching. It could be reconfigured for
uh an event where you're serving the the culinary creations of the students. And then we also have uh a revised nurses area uh and suite for for that as well. Uh now we'll go to the middle school and
the middle school basically takes place on the interior main level uh where we are renovating and uh uh reconfiguring the layouts to create uh three equalsiz science labs. Currently there's one larger size
science lab and two smaller science labs. There's also one on another level. We are going to reconfigure the areas so that you will have three uh equalsized uh science labs which will better support the curriculum. We will also
have two general classrooms uh full-size general classrooms in the same corridor. This is what the existing science labs look like on the left. Um again uh fixed furnishings uh and the uh plan on the
right is perimeter um utilities and a flexible interior so that the rooms can be used multi-purpose uh at Bedwell. We're going to take a look at the lower uh level. The Carter and and U stairwells at the lower level
of Bedwell are dark. They're they're not really inviting. We are going to renovate the corer that you see here in purple. We are going to provide new lighting and updates to that corridor to make it more inviting. And then we are going to renovate the three classrooms that currently exist. We're going to
create two larger STEM cla STEM lab rooms and one speech classroom to be able to accommodate the needs of uh the school. on the upper level on the first floor. Uh we are renovating the kindergarten
toilet rooms to provide ADA compliance and we are also providing a new corridor which will provide access to the second classroom. At the present time the entrances into the first classroom and you have to actually go through the
first classroom to enter the second. it's not really uh beneficial or conducive to the learning environment when people are walking through a class during a lesson. So, this corridor will allow this classroom to work on un uninterrupted uh while students get to
the next classroom. The other component that's being renovated here is we do have a secure vestibule, but at this time, everyone enters the building and they're vetted by someone at a desk inside the building. um not the most secure uh from
a standpoint, but what we are providing is now a security office on the outside of the building. So people will come in, they will check in, they will be vetted before they're allowed to enter the building. So it creates an added level of security um for the for the building
and for the school. And then finally, we're renovating the media center. The existing media center is the area you see here in red. Um there is um it's it's again older, dated. It doesn't really flow or meet uh you know the educational purposes that it could if it
were renovated. In addition, there is a classroom space that's located in the back of the media center. So similarly, you have to walk through the media center to get to that classroom space. In this particular plan and layout, we are moving that classroom to the front
of the media center. We're providing access off the corridor. So you no longer have to enter the media center to have uh access to that classroom. We then get to revise and renovate the media center to provide various collaboration spaces, learning spaces,
reading areas, everything that a true media center today should have. And this is our secure vestibule. Um and this is just an image of where the person sits who vets people currently. And this is an idea of what that new
security office and new vestibule can look like. You come in, you come to the window, you give your ID, it's scanned, you get a badge, and you then are allowed to enter the building. And this is just an idea of what that small security office could look like.
Existing media center. Um, again, this is, you know, old school media center. Lots of book stacks, lots of centralized book stacks. The idea here would be to renovate that space, push the book stacks on the perimeter or provide flexible movable book stacks that can
create various learning areas and learning cubicles for the students uh as well as presentation areas. So um and I should point out that the designs and the concepts that you're seeing, they are conceptual only. We have not designed these spaces and in the in New
Jersey we don't actually design the projects until the referendum passes and the reason for that is you would be spending architectural and engineering fees to design something that might not pass. So we design to a particular point for for concept. We prepare a budget
based on concept, but if and when the referendum passes, we will meet with the staff and the administration and prepare the designs for each of these spaces in great detail. The existing uh STEM lab is underutilized. The classroom needs upgrades to support the curriculum. And
this is an idea of what a new STEM lab could be reimagined. again flexible movable furniture, power drops from the ceiling, uh technology support, storage, and a lot of implementation. So, those are the projects in graphical
form. I want to just recap. Burnsville High School will receive the annex wing renovations, including the STARS program and the culinary arts lab renovations. It will receive science lab renovations, including STEM, chemistry, physics, bio, biology, robotics, and technology. It'll
receive new broadcasting studio uh renovations, partial roofing system replacements, upgrading the existing security system, the installation of ballistic uh safety film on all lower level windows, and enhancing the school
community through branding. The middle school will receive science lab renovations, all general science classrooms, uh partial roofing system replacement, improving and upgrading the security system, installation of the ballistic safety film, and again
enhancing the school community through branding and graphics. And the elementary will receive renovations of kindergarten classrooms, including updating the ADA toilets, constructing an exterior corridor, which will provide direct access to the second kindergarten
classroom. Uh constructing a new security office, again, upgrading the security system, installation of ballistic films, partial roofing replacements, and enhancing the school's community. So, those are the projects uh for all three schools in a nutshell. Uh let's
talk about something that's very important to everyone and that's the projected costs. So we've included a uh budget breakdown for the uh referendum. It includes uh the the cost by school. So the high
school renovations, the total project cost is about $22 million, $21.9 million. For that project, we've received $6.5 million in debt service aid, which reduces the net taxable cost to $15,375,000.
On the middle school, we're looking at just just over $6.8 million. We're receiving $2.1 million in debt service aid. So, that project gets reduced to 4.7 million. At Bedwell, we're looking
at uh just over $9.3 million uh with $2.6 in debt service aid, reducing that to 6.6. Overall, the project will cost 38,24,257. We have been approved by the state for
11,344,849 in debt service aid or 29.8% of the project. And that reduces the total project cost to 26,679,48. So how does that impact you as taxpayers in the communities?
So, because current debt debt service payments are declining after March of 2026 and we're reinvesting that debt in these pro uh these projects that these project costs will be replaced by
the debt that's rolling off. So for an average assessed home in each of the communities, the tax impact will decrease for this project over the course of the bond ref the the bond, the 20-year bond for all of the communities.
Uh the tax uh taxes will decrease. Now, this was originally targeted to be a netneutral tax increase by the district. Uh the average t tax impact will in fact be reduced over the life of the bond. The cost projections that you see here
are based upon a 4% interest rate over 20 years. So when the bonds are sold, um depending upon where that rate is, the cost could fluctuate slightly up or down. So, in looking at it another way, looking at the existing tax impact
versus the new tax impact, if you look at Bernardsville uh burrow at an average assessed home of $975,000, their existing tax impact right now is $836 a year. The new tax impact after
the referendum, uh it will be $527 per year. Same thing for Far Hills, 340 now, 214 later. Peepac Gladstone 531, 335 later. So again, the intent here is
to be fiscally responsible, provide a referendum that will take care of much of the district's needs and yet provide a uh netneutral or tax reduction over the life of the bond. So what exactly does your vote mean? If
you vote yes to this referendum, you would or the district would receive educational and capital projects at the school district at a recom reduce reduced tax impact over the life of the bond. All of the projects that I I talked about, all of the classroom
renovations, the roof replacements, the security upgrades, all of that would be implemented over the next several years. If you vote no for this referendum, well then nothing changes. There will be no money to allocate towards projects. The
district will continue to do what it needs to do out of the capital budget without debt service aid. So in fact, you forfeit the 11.3 million in debt service aid because you're no longer going through or you've not passed the referendum.
So the referendum does take place on um March 10th. Uh the polls open at 6 uh a.m. and end at 8:00 PM. Uh there are various polling districts. 1, 2, and 7 will take place at the Burnersville
Library. 3 4 5 and 6 at St. Bernard's Church. Uh Far Hills. All districts will be at the Far Hills Municipal Building and at Peepac Gladstone. They will be at the municipal building as well. All of this information is on the district's website. Uh all of it is very
prominently placed uh in various packages throughout the district's website. I want to talk real quickly about facts and some frequently asked questions. Um we have been approved for 11,344,849. That money is used to offset the cost of
this referendum should it pass. If it doesn't pass, that money goes away. The district is carrying that 4% interest rate um for all tax calculations and the goal was to maintain a net neutral impact. At the time of the bond sale, the bonds
will be sold roughly, you know, couple months after the March date. Those tax uh interest rates could uh vary. At the present time, rent uh interest rates for bond sales are about 3.75%. So ultimately, they could be lower. Um,
you know, barring anything uh crazy happening in the markets, we all know that construction costs have increased significantly over the last several years. They're not going down, but it doesn't really matter for this referendum. We cannot go over the amount
approved by the voters. So, it's incumbent upon us as the architect to design these projects uh so that we can still get all of the work done. Now, our budgets include escalators and multipliers that will take us out three
years. So, it's it's expected that in the beginning when we start to bid projects, they come in under budget. As we bid during the second year, maybe they're going to come in on budget. As we go to the third year, projects may come in over budget, but we have a surplus built up from that first year or
the first couple years to be able to make this all come out in the wash. And we've got enough referenda that we've performed to know that that's pretty much how it works. Can more money be spent than the amount approved in the question. The district
cannot pay 1 cent more than what you've approved as voters for this referendum. They can't bring money in from capital reserve without voter approval. They can't bring it in from some other account. Once this referendum passes, the amount is set in stone and we have
to bid the projects accordingly. Why can't the board stockpile monies that can be you pay used to pay for these types of projects rather than go out for referendum? Unfortunately, the board cannot uh allocate funds through capital reserve. They can only be st uh
saved within the imposed cap. You also would not receive again debt service aid if you were to do these out of the capital budget. I just want to point out, I'm not going to go through every single one of these, but there were projects that were
evaluated originally for the referendum that because of cost and because of the district wanting to make make sure that this remained fiscally responsible that were not done. And there's a a list of these projects are all included in the renovations. They include other roofing
sections. They enco uh encompass other educational uh classroom renovations, toilet room renovations. So there's a significant amount of work that didn't make it because the district didn't want to put a significant number before the public.
What happens to the children before, during, and after construction? Obviously, we want to do as much of the construction work when students are not in class and not and school is not in session. Uh and in most cases, we take into consideration that. However, summer months are only 8 weeks long and we need
to be mindful that a lot of this work still needs to be done. So there will be projects that are be coordinated during the school year or at off hours so that they don't impact operations for the district. The senior freeze program, this is something that everybody should be aware
of um especially the seniors. Um the new New Jersey has a senior freeze tax incentive program for seniors. Um where you fill out a simple application. It is um income eligibility requirement. Uh if
you meet that requirement and you become part of the senior freeze program, your taxes remain the same. Even if the bond referendum passes and your taxes were to go up, uh they would stay the same. You would pay as a senior, you would tend to
pay the up the increase, but at the end of the year, you would be reimbursed for it. Um there is an application form online. Um, and it is also encompasses two other senior tax programs that you can also participate in. Uh, as far as
potential construction schedule, as I mentioned, it's impossible to do all of this work in one summer. And given a March referendum, we've already basically missed the bidding period for the first March summer. Contractors have already got work lined up. And if we were to bid projects now, the cost would
be uh significantly higher than if we bid them at another opportune time. So there could be some projects we'll bid under state contract um under this summer and uh but projects that require more design time like the educational uh
renovations, they wouldn't start until later in 2026 or 2027 through 2028. By us allowing flexibility on when this work uh happens, it allows us to bid projects when contractors are hungry and
get the best prices, which is ultimately what we're looking to do. So again, all of this information is on the district's website. There is a link in the presentation. Uh there is a a page on the district's website. There are popups on the district website.
There's also an an email address referendumsh.org. or that you can send questions to. If you leave here and you think of questions and you want to ask questions, please send them in. We have a frequently asked uh questions page on the website. And the other thing to
point out is this presentation is long. There's a lot of information, but we've broken down this presentation into components that are all individually shown on the website. If you want to look at the tax information, just go to the tax section. If you want to see the projects, you can go to the project section. If you want to see the cost,
you can go to the cost section. So everything is broken down. So that's the uh presentation in uh in in full. Uh if you have any questions, be more than happy to answer them. Uh and u we'll be here.
Thank you. >> Yes. Vote by mail. You would not Sorry. If you're registered to vote by mail, that does not apply for this. You have to vote in person. >> No, no, you can still vote by mail. You should be getting you should be getting receiving a ballot for this as well,
just like any other election. >> Gotcha. Thank you. Correct. Middle school is that. >> So, it's a great question. The question was the STEM room at the uh middle school if that's going to be or at Bedwell if that's a shared facility. And
so the intentions are again to create opportunities for all of our kids uh in this area. There is not a dedicated STEM space at the middle school. Uh so we do envision um some facility sharing um to avail uh those same facilities to um to
students up on the scen complex. Sure. Certain sections of the roofs uh across the across this referendum are up for uh replacement. Um I I haven't I don't have committed to memory the
exact sections of roofing, you know, at the middle school, but I can certainly uh provide that for you. Um certainly uh so some there are roofing sections that are getting uh enhanced uh just not every piece of a roof is is not getting enhanced. Mhm.
Yes. Great question. And so the question is uh does your vote uh provide authorization ultimately if it's successful to uh the entire proposal? And the answer is yes. Uh it it authorizes the board of education to
conduct a bond sale to raise the money uh to conduct the work that we have proposed. So yeah, good question. Miss Bitner, >> chemistry teacher. very interested, very excited about
this. Um, so shown for the science class like a general. >> So So from a a conceptual standpoint, we've laid out a science lab with the way they're laid out today, the way we would design science labs. But again,
the design is not set in stone. If there are multiple science labs that need to be renovated and the staff and the curriculum support them all being the same model, we would prepare the same model. We would prepare, you know, variations where necessary or the type
of uh, you know, if it's science, biology, STEM, you know, they're all different, you know, they all have different needs. So, the design process comes later and we involve the administration staff. We sit down, we look at the needs of each individual
space. Right now, this is a broadstroke look at what a science lab could be. And we've budgeted for any of the possibilities in design. You're welcome. Well, certainly uh I'll leave you with
uh we wanted at the board of education level to uh inspire the future generations of Somerset Hills graduates. We wanted to put them in the position to be successful in academically engaging environments in facilities uh that
reflected uh rigorous environments and flexible learning. And we believe that um we have provided that opportunity uh to the community uh and to uh make a decision in order to uh move the quality
of our programming and the excellence in our facilities forward into the future. Thank you. One of the other the last thing that I would like to leave you with is one of the biggest um sometimes often comes up in referenda is that everyone
in the room thinks that hey this is going to pass so I don't have to go out and vote. Um and what happens is the referendum day comes and people stay home and they don't go vote and it's closer than you want it to be. So,
please um if you're if you're vested in this and and you you you want to support this referendum, go out and vote. It's something that you know it's your right to do. It's something that you should do. Tell your friends, share the website with people if they're not aware of it.
Let them know that all this information is available to them. And if they have questions, let them know about the email address. The district wants to be transparent. They want to make sure that everybody gets their questions answered. So, please vote.