Voters in West Deptford, Willingboro, and Southampton considering school bond questions on Tuesday

West Deptford School Superintendent Brian C. Gismondi has lost count of how many meetings he has attended to pitch an $89.9 million bond referendum to pay for improvements at every school in his South Jersey school system.

Voters will decide Tuesday whether to approve the referendum, which would raise local property taxes by $384 a year for the average homeowner. Gismondi hopes that he has made the case for the spending plan to make upgrades that the district cannot readily afford through its annual operating budget. The state would contribute $23.8 million.

“I’m excitedly nervous,” said Gismondi. “We have a lot of work to do.”

West Deptford, along with Willingboro and Southampton in Burlington County, are the only South Jersey districts with referendum questions in Tuesday special’s election, one of five times during the year that school boards may ask voters to approve a bond issue or special question.

Statewide, there are 16 boards asking voters to approve proposals totaling for $742.6 million, with the state contributing $241.2 million. Most spending projects qualify for state funding to cover some of the costs.

If approved, the West Deptford referendum would allow the district to expand its preschool program to include 3-year-olds, adding 10 classrooms to the district’s early childhood center, Gismondi said. About 150 students would be enrolled there, while 4-year-olds would continue to attend three elementary schools, he said.

The early childhood center, the former Red Bank School, would get a two-story addition with the bond. The classes can house no more than 15 students with a teacher and an aide. West Deptford enrolls about 2,900 students in pre-K through 12th grade.

The district said the additional space is needed to implement a full-day program in order to receive special state preschool funding. Without the addition, the district would need to enroll some preschoolers in outside programs such as Head Start or spread the preschool students out at different schools in the district, Gismondi said.

Gismondi said a bell atop the early childhood center, which dates back to the 1800s, would be kept.

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If approved, the center could be completed as early as 2027, Gismondi said. Voters last approved a referendum in 2015, for $15 million.

The district also wants to upgrade HVAC systems at its three elementary schools, middle school, and high school. The middle school would get new science labs and the high school would get a 4,000-square-foot music room expansion along with additional storage and classroom space for the band and choir programs.

Willingboro has two proposed questions totaling $67.9 million for improvements in the Burlington County school system for projects ranging from new roofs to upgraded science labs, renovated libraries, and gym annexes. The state would contribute $24 million toward the first ballot question, if approved by voters.

The projects proposed in the second question would go forward only if voters approve the first ballot question, including a year-round indoor athletic complex that could host track meets, said Superintendent Malcolm X. Outlaw. If both are approved, about $276 would be added annually to the average tax bill.

The top priority is roofing repairs, which account for 59% of the projects in the first question, Outlaw said. The district cannot finance the repairs with its general operating budget so a referendum or property tax increase are the only options, he said.

“There’s no way the roof can’t get fixed. It has to happen,” Outlaw said.

The district would use a new athletic complex as a rental facility and attract the region’s top track teams, Outlaw said. The complex would also include two basketball courts. It would be built on vacant land, possibly in the Country Club section, or near Route 130, Outlaw said. While the $18.2 million project is ineligible for state funds, Outlaw believes it would generate rental and sponsorship fees.

Outlaw said Willingboro’s indoor track teams now must go to other locations to compete. The district broke ground last year for a rebuilt outdoor track and field at the stadium that bears the name of Carl Lewis, who won four gold medals in the 1984 Olympics.

The Southampton school district is asking voters to approve a $14.1 million referendum to convert an existing bus garage into an annex that would house all-purpose, art, and music rooms, security upgrades, and a new media center. The capital improvement project also calls for refurbishing the playgrounds at two elementary schools and installing a multipurpose field and running track at Southampton School #3.

If approved, the state would contribute $3.5 million.