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Franklin Township residents will weigh a tax increase when they vote Tuesday on a $7.9 million referendum to complete the new high school.
Some 1,950 students already use the new 340,000-square-foot facility that opened in September two weeks late.
The question is a reduced version of the failed $11.5 million referendum from April 19 that included sports facilities at the high school and upgrades for the district's six elementary schools. The new referendum excludes the elementary school projects.
"They've just been put on hold," said school board President Eva Nagy. "They will probably be wrapped into a future referendum, but not this April."
If the referendum passes, the added cost for a resident with a home assessed at the township's average of $310,717 would be $25 annually for 20 years.
In 2001, voters approved a $70 million package that drew $19.7 million in state funding to build the new high school and upgrade schools. The question was a trimmed version of a failed 1999 referendum seeking $85.9 million.
But the project was over budget from the beginning, Nagy said. Rising construction costs spurred the school board to postpone the planned stadium.
"The bids came in very high," said Nagy. "It's very difficult for the taxpayers to understand."
At today's prices, Nagy said, the same high school project would cost $30 million to $40 million more. "That's how much prices have gone up since 2001. "It's not something unique to Franklin," Nagy said.
Of the 19 New Jersey school projects being voted on next week, three -- East Hanover, Franklin and North Brunswick -- are for added funds. New Jersey School Boards Association spokesman Frank Belluscio says that's "more frequent."
"We will be seeing more of this," said Belluscio.
Belluscio said the trend began after 2000, when schools were able to get state funding for voter-approved school projects. A rush of referendums led to a construction boom, making the market "a little more difficult," Belluscio said.
In Franklin, the $7,911,000 would fund a 4,000-seat multi-purpose stadium with track and field areas, as well as locker rooms, a concession building, tennis courts, dugouts for baseball and softball fields, and lighting and parking.
It would also include artificial turf for the stadium, which school officials say is cost-effective.
Most athletic teams practice at the school, but players are bused to the old high school -- now the middle school -- for games. In the case of a football game, said Principal Orvyl Wilson, that could mean up to five busloads -- the team, the band, the band auxiliary and the cheerleaders.
The extra busing costs the school $40,000 per year, Nagy said. With 100 acres of land, Wilson said, there is enough room for the school, potential expansions and all the students' athletic needs. "The land, the location, everything is ideal -- except that we don't have a stadium," Wilson said.
Phillip Kramer, a spokesman for the citizens' group, Taxpayers United in Franklin Township, said in April the group advised passing the referendum but rejecting the $116 million school budget.
This time around, Kramer said, the group called on residents to reject any proposals until the board agrees to televise meetings and have an "operational examination" of the budget.
"This time we're torn," said Kramer. "In a vacuum, I would say the stadium is an appropriate expenditure. But it's not a vacuum."
"I understand the concern about taxes in this community," Wilson said. But he added that people also recognize the school will eventually need the facilities. "The longer you wait, the more it costs," he said.
"Many times the 'no' vote is because (residents) don't want their taxes to go up," agreed Nagy. "People take their frustrations out on the school district."
Nyier Abdou works in the Somerset County bureau. She may be reached at nabdou@starledger.com or (908) 429-9925.
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