Referendum goes down

Wantage — High Point School District voters turned down a referendum to borrow about $13 million for improvements to the school and its athletic fields by a 60-40 margin. The proposal by the regional board of education received 1,036 votes in favor and 1,519 against, according to preliminary results filed by the Board of Elections at the Sussex County Clerk’s office. When the proposal was initially brought to the public in December, district officials touted it as a painless way to tackle desired improvements because the district is poised to retire a $12 million debt. If the new proposal were to have passed, taxes to cover the new debt would have been lower than the tax bite taken by the old debt. But, as letters from the public indicate, voters are not in the mood to take on debt of any size. The school board’s sample ballot explained that the district expected to receive more than $4 million of the total back from state aid. Highlights of the now-defeated proposal were: refurbishing eight science labs replacing some windows and doors with energy-efficient units improving exterior lighting upgrading the electrical system to support expanded use of computers installing motion sensors to automatically turn on lights and save energy replacing the roof on the “400” wing As to what the district will do now to address these and other buildings and grounds issues remains unknown for the moment. District Superintendent John Hannam was unavailable for comment.