Seaside Heights to Hold $4.4M Referendum on Boyd Elementary School Improvements

The Hugh J. Boyd elementary school in Seaside Heights, 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)

Seaside Heights voters will be asked to approve a $4.45 million project to upgrade facilities at the Hugh J. Boyd Elementary School in a referendum vote in March.

James D. Roselli, who serves as superintendent of the single-school district along with Berkeley Township, presented the plan to the borough council last week. The council, however, has no role in the referendum itself; it is governed by the Board of Education. The Boyd school was saved from closure in 2024, when voters rejected a separate referendum that would have subsumed Seaside Heights into the Toms River Regional school district. After the measure was defeated, the Seaside Heights Board of Education aligned the K-6 school with Berkeley Township, choosing Roselli to be its chief administrator.

“It’s a referendum for Seaside Heights only,” said Mayor Anthony Vaz. “It’s an upgrade for the HVAC system, and a few other items they want to take care of.”

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If approved in March, the $4,445,415 appropriation would replace what was described as a “failing” electrical heat and air conditioning system, as well as a host of internal technology components. A backup generator would also be added to the school property. The electric HVAC system would be replaced by a natural gas system, with new hot water ventilators providing heat to classrooms. The system would also be able to be controlled remotely in order to regulate long-term costs. Vaz said the state would cover $1.5 million of the cost if approved.

For taxpayers, Roselli said the project would add about $81 annually to the property tax bill for a home assessed at the borough’s average of $594,149.

The vote is scheduled for Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 100 Grant Ave, Seaside Heights, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.