School officials made a presentation to a sparse crowd Wednesday evening as a March 11 school bond referendum approaches.
The election will ask Ocean City voters to approve borrowing $2,497,421 to help pay for a renovation of the Ocean City Primary School, which was built in 1965.
The event was scheduled to provide information on the project and to allow the public to ask questions.
The district has the opportunity to recover 40 percent of the cost through a state grant and to capitalize on low interest rates before they climb, according to School Business Administrator Pat Yacovelli. Ocean City will receive $2,399,279 from a state Regular Operating District (ROD) grant for school construction. New Jersey had not offered ROD grants for the previous four years.
The total projected cost for the project is $6,653,368. With the state paying $2.4 million and the district contributing about $1.8 million from a capital reserve fund, voters will be asked to fund the remaining $2.5 million through a bond issue.
The election will be 3 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, March 11. The project is planned for summer 2015.
The school needs a new roof, heating and cooling systems, plumbing and electrical systems, windows and doors. Most classrooms have no air-conditioning, and some of the windows are 48-year-old originals, single-glazed and lined with asbestos.
A new HVAC would be more energy-efficient and allow the school to control different zones within the school, according to Facilities Manager A.J. Nordt.
“Our goal is to make the school safer and healthier,” Board of Education member Ray Clark said. “Promote a better learning environment.”
If the referendum is successful, the owner of a $500,000 home in Ocean City would pay an extra $15.39 in school taxes annually for a bond issue period of 10 years, according to Yacovelli.
A separate HVAC project at Ocean City High School is projected to cost $2.9 million and to be completed this summer.
