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POINT PLEASANT BEACH — Voters on Tuesday, Dec. 12 answered “no” to a ballot question regarding whether or not to authorize the spending of $23.9 million for extensive upgrades to the Point Pleasant Beach school district’s facilities.
According to unofficial tallies from the Ocean County Clerk’s office Tuesday night, with all four Point Pleasant Beach districts as well as Mantoloking reporting, 330 people voted in favor of the referendum while 652 voted against it.
Voter turnout for the referendum was under 25 percent, with only 987 registered voters casting a ballot out of 4,490 registered voters.
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Mail-in ballots made up 207 of the votes, and 780 voters cast a ballot in-person.
The project plan called for construction of a field house adjacent to G. Harold Antrim Elementary as the centerpiece of the school improvement package put forth by the Point Pleasant Beach Board of Education.
The structure was to serve a dual purpose as a recreation and athletics facility and administrative office building.
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Also included in the referendum were building improvements including masonry upgrades and security, and program improvements including shared learning and elective spaces. Infrastructure improvements would include new boilers.
Recreational facility improvements would include new tennis courts and other outdoor spaces.
The estimated annual tax impact for a home assessed at the borough average of $569,391 was $420, or $35 per month.
The board has suggested that a key reason for its referendum is to draw families to the borough by making the school district a desirable one for parents to send their children to.
Superintendent Will Smith and board Business Administrator Brian Savage made a concerted effort to gain support for the initiative in the leadup to the special election, presenting the body’s plan in detail at public information sessions as well as to the borough’s recreation committee. The board also set up several pages on the district’s website solely dedicated to the referendum.
For more on this story, read the next edition of The Ocean Star—on newsstands Friday or online in our e-Edition.
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