Full-day kindergarten program and a myriad of other capital improvement ride on the success of the referendum.
A single question on the special school election ballot on Oct. 2 will ask Mt. Laurel voters to consider $35.5 million in capital improvements in eight schools.
The proposal includes various facility upgrades and renovations needed to facilitate Mt. Laurel’s first full-day kindergarten program.
Regardless of the outcome of the referendum vote, owners of the average Mt. Laurel home assessed at $237,600 will pay the elementary school district $153.18 in pre-existing debt-service tax in 2019.
With the 2019 payments, the district will pay off the debt service expenditures created to build the Springville School and expand and renovate the Hartford and Harrington buildings in 2001.
With the reduction in existing bond debt and the contribution of state aid, the owner of the same home valued at the average price of $237,600 would begin paying $97.87 in debt-service tax in 2021 if the upcoming referendum proposal is successful at the polls.
In addition to facility upgrades needed for a full-day kindergarten program, the referendum would also fund upgrades to the district’s security systems and fire alarms, fund energy-efficient lighting inside the schools and fund repairs to cracked curbs, sidewalks and paving in school parking areas.
Boilers and HVAC systems, most of which are more than 20 years old in all eight schools, are included for replacement in the referendum.
Voters can cast their ballot in the Oct. 2 referendum from noon to 8 p.m. at the same polling places they use for general elections.
Below are the polling locations for Mt. Laurel’s voting districts as according to the township:
• Districts 1, 15, 17 — Fire district headquarters, 69 Elbo Lane
• Districts 2, 18, 26 — Mt. Laurel EMS Building at 201 Masonville Road
• Districts 3, 6 — Mt. Laurel Fellowship Fire Station at 3824 Church Road
• Districts 4, 12 — New Covenant Presbyterian Church, 240 Creek Road
• Districts 5, 25 — Masonville Fire Company, 105 Masonville Road
• Districts 7, 9, 10 — Fellowship Squad Building, 1051 S. Church St.
• Districts 8, 11, 20 — Mt. Laurel Community Center at 100 Mt. Laurel Road
• Districts 13, 22, 23 — Mt. Laurel Municipal Utilities Authority Building at 81 Elbo Lane
• Districts 14, 19 — Paws Discovery Farm at 1105 Hainesport Mt. Laurel Road
• Districts 16, 21, 24, 27 — St. John Neumann Church, 560 Walton Ave.
To search for a district by street name, visit the township’s website at www.mountlaurel.com and click on the “Election Information” tab on the Municipal Clerk’s Office page or call (856) 234–0001 Ext. 1236.
