In unofficial results from the Gloucester County Board of Elections, Deptford voters passed a $37.6 million bond issue to replace existing mercury-infested floors at multiple schools and move sixth-grade classes to the district’s middle school, among other things. Provisional and mail-in ballots are still pending. The official results are expected to be in on Friday.
The results as of Tuesday night declared that 53.53 percent voted to pass the bond, with over 2,000 residents coming out to vote on the issue, showing an unusually heavy turnout in a special school election.
The tax impact on a home assessed at the township average of $180,143 is $17.38, according to the district’s website. The state would contribute $8.8 million.
The bond will allow for the replacement of mercury-infested floors at Central, Pine Acres and Shade Lane schools.
The bond will also move sixth-grade classes from four different elementary school settings to Monongahela Middle School. Sixth-grade students are currently housed at four elementary schools throughout the district, sharing the halls with grades two to five.
The district is only one of two in Gloucester County that has a sixth grade in its elementary school. The move would allow sixth-grade students to participate in special curricular and extra-curricular activities, which are limited at the elementary level, according to the district. In order to make room for the new grade in the middle school, the district will add 16 new classrooms, two new science labs, an auxiliary gym, a cafeteria and a new main office, as well as the new central district office.
