District officials said they are waiting on state approvals to move forward with vote
A Cherry Hill Public Schools bond referendum planned for October could be pushed back if the projects included in the vote do not receive state approval soon, district officials said this week.
Last month, the board of education voted to hold a referendum on Tuesday, Oct. 2. However, the district is waiting to hear back from the state Department of Education on what parts of the projects would be eligible for state funding.
“Until we receive those approval letters that establish the preliminary eligible cost, we cannot determine what the local share for the referendum is,” Superintendent Joe Meloche said in a video posted by the district Aug. 8.
Officials discussed the status of the referendum during an Aug. 7 meeting of the board of education’s strategic planning committee.
Assistant Superintendent for Business Lynn Shugars said during the meeting that the district needs to get state approval within a week to 10 days to hold the bond referendum in October.
“Something has to happen here in the next week or so,” she said.
Officials have not released details regarding the cost of the referendum, local tax impact and wording of the questions.
“We haven’t gotten the approvals, so without the approvals we can’t advertise the appropriate information,” Meloche said.
Meloche said the board would ideally be able to approve the questions and provide more information on the projects at the board’s Aug. 14 work session meeting.
Meloche and others at the committee meeting blamed the state for delaying the process. He called the situation “frustrating” for the district.
“We had an aggressive timeline, there’s no doubt about it,” Meloche said during the meeting. “We can’t control the reality of bureaucracy in the state.”
State Department of Education spokesperson Michael Yapel said the department is in the process of reviewing the 18 project applications submitted by the Cherry Hill district. He said state reviewers have met with architects and representatives from the district to discuss the plans.
“The process takes some time, and the Cherry Hill projects are sizable,” Yapel said in an email. “As the project progresses, the department aims to continue to provide the district with service that is as thorough and responsive as possible.”
Cherry Hill Public Schools submitted its project applications April 4, district officials previously told The Sun.
Meloche said the department of education has 90 days to look over the plans, but the state can extend the review period by 60 days if necessary. That would carry the process through to the first week of September, he added.
“We do believe that the projects will all be approved,” Meloche said.
He said the district’s “Plan B” would be to push back the vote to a later date. The next possible date after Oct. 2 to hold a special bond referendum election is Dec. 11, according to state guidelines.
The projects under consideration would not change even if the election date changes, Meloche said.
“There’s work in the district that needs to be done, and it will be done,” he said during the committee meeting.
Shugars said the district has officially notified township and county election officials about the planned Oct. 2 vote, but she said the district has not yet paid for anything related to the election.
Board Member Kathy Judge expressed concern over the referendum process during the committee meeting and said she was worried residents would view a possible delay with suspicion.
“If we have to change the date, it just doesn’t look good for us,” she said.
Meloche said district officials have been upfront and forthcoming throughout the referendum process.
For more information on the projects included in the bond referendum, visit www.chclc.org/bond.
