{"id":2730,"date":"2019-01-17T03:44:51","date_gmt":"2019-01-17T08:44:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/?p=2730"},"modified":"2019-01-17T03:44:51","modified_gmt":"2019-01-17T08:44:51","slug":"toms-river-teachers-union-celebrity-alumni-throw-support-behind-147m-referendum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/2019\/01\/toms-river-teachers-union-celebrity-alumni-throw-support-behind-147m-referendum\/","title":{"rendered":"Toms River Teachers&#8217; Union, Celebrity Alumni, Throw Support Behind $147M Referendum"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_2731\" style=\"width: 979px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2731\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2731\" src=\"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/frazier_trrs.jpg\" alt=\"Todd Frazier addresses the Toms River school board, Jan. 17, 2019. (Photo: Shorebeat)\" width=\"969\" height=\"692\" srcset=\"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/frazier_trrs.jpg 969w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/frazier_trrs-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/frazier_trrs-768x548.jpg 768w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/frazier_trrs-588x420.jpg 588w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/frazier_trrs-640x457.jpg 640w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/frazier_trrs-681x486.jpg 681w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 969px) 100vw, 969px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2731\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Todd Frazier addresses the Toms River school board, Jan. 17, 2019. (Photo: Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The Toms River Education Association president announced at a Board of Education meeting Wednesday night that his organization is in support of a referendum question scheduled next week that will ask taxpayers to commit $147 million to facilities improvements and capital projects across the regional school district. Plus, the referendum received endorsements from two well-known graduates.<\/p>\n<p>Scott Campbell, the union president, said he has seen classrooms reach up to 90 degrees on hot days in September and June, and he has also seen students wearing their coats indoors during the winter months because the heating system occasionally fails. Among a slew of items, the referendum would fund new boilers and chillers at schools across the district where replacements are needed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you take a step back and look at how we arrived at this point, the number of phone calls I\u2019ve received about the buildings themselves, it\u2019s a daily thing here in the district,\u201d said Campbell. \u201cSomething has to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Among the items included in the referendum are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Safety and security upgrades.<\/li>\n<li>Improving accessibility through the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)<\/li>\n<li>Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) units and controls.<\/li>\n<li>Door and window replacements<\/li>\n<li>Renovating and upgrading high wear and high use areas like science labs and playgrounds, with updated safety standards<\/li>\n<li>Repairing and repaving of parking lots and driveways.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The total cost of the capital projects, if the measure is approved by voters, is\u00a0$147,148,269. For a home valued at $272,400 \u2013 the average assessed value in Toms River \u2013 the annual cost would add up to $141.60 per year. William Doering, the district\u2019s business administrator, said the funding would be financed for 20 years at an interest rate expected to be 3.85 percent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no wasteful spending in this referendum,\u201d pledged Superintendent David Healy.<\/p>\n<p>The formal endorsement of the referendum plan by the teachers\u2019 union is a major shot in the arm for its chances of passage. Toms River has a comparatively high percentage of staff members who live in-district, and voter turnout for votes that do not coincide with the general election has historically seen less participation. But with taxpayers already worried about the loss of $70 million in state funding over the next seven years \u2013 an amount that will largely have to be made up through property taxes under a bill signed by Gov. Phil Murphy \u2013 some voters are wary about authorizing the spending with so much uncertainty when it comes to the district\u2019s financial outlook.<\/p>\n<p>Other argue that the loss of school funding is a reason to vote in favor of the referendum, with the logic being that facilities could further deteriorate and end up costing more to repair or replace later on \u2013 potentially during the height of the funding crisis. The district has a lawsuit pending against the state, seeking to restore the aid dollars.<\/p>\n<p>Campbell said the money is needed to improve facilities, strengthen the community and retain staff.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow to you attract a citizenry if you can\u2019t offer them excellent schools?\u201d he asked. \u201cOne thing Toms River has always done is offer excellent schools. It\u2019s just something Toms River has always been able to pride itself on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some of the district\u2019s celebrity graduates, including Major League Baseball player Todd Frazier and UFC fighter Frankie Edgar, have come out in support of the measure, board members said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of Frazier blood running through the Toms River school system, and I\u2019d like to keep it that way,\u201d the New York Mets third baseman said during a public address at Wednesday\u2019s meeting. \u201cIn my mind, Toms River was put on the map a long time ago. We need a lot of improvements, not only for our sports facilities, but to get back to where we need to be in New Jersey. For our teachers \u2026 we all thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Frazier himself referenced the same heat and air conditioning problems that Campbell later expounded upon, telling those gathered at Toms River High School North\u2019s auditorium how he has four children who will be making their way through the school system just like he did. The referendum would also fund new carpets, doors and other furnishings that, in some cases, are 50 years old.<\/p>\n<p>Of the $147 million, the state is expected to fund about 37 percent, bringing the amount for which taxpayers are responsible to just under $100 million.<\/p>\n<p>Board President Russel Corby said many people have asked him what \u201cplan B\u201d would look like if the ballot measure, set for Jan. 22, does not pass. His answer: no matter what, it\u2019ll be more expensive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone asks, \u2018what\u2019s plan B, what\u2019s plan B?\u2019\u201d said Corby. \u201cAll I know is that it\u2019s going to get more expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Corby also touched on the effects the facilities have on staff, echoing earlier comments from Campbell.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey have been working in these rooms that don\u2019t have heat, and where the rain is coming in through the ceiling,\u201d Corby said. \u201cThe classroom professionals want to be teaching our students instead of worrying about all these things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A rejection of the referendum would not affect staffing levels, he said, though Campbell believes it ultimately will. The biggest impact, Campbell said, is on students.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe impact on the children is that they\u2019re not getting the education they deserve and the individual attention they need,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fcbkbttn_buttons_block\" id=\"fcbkbttn_left\"><div class=\"fb-share-button fcbkbttn_large_button \" data-href=\"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/2019\/01\/toms-river-teachers-union-celebrity-alumni-throw-support-behind-147m-referendum\/\" data-type=\"button_count\" data-size=\"large\"><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Toms River Education Association president announced at a Board of Education meeting Wednesday night that his organization is in support of a referendum question scheduled next week that will ask taxpayers to commit $147 million to facilities improvements and capital projects across the regional school district. Plus, the referendum received endorsements from two well-known [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5],"tags":[769,538,324,11],"class_list":["post-2730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-toms-river-schools","tag-capital-budget","tag-school-referendum","tag-todd-frazier","tag-toms-river-nj-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/frazier_trrs.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2730\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}