Lawrence Township voters approved a $98.9 million bond referendum to expand the Lawrence Middle School by 2,641 votes to 1,790 votes at a special bond referendum March 11.
Of the 26,100 registered voters in Lawrence Township, 4,431 voters cast ballots by mail or in-person. This represents a voter turnout of 16.98%, according to the Mercer County Clerk’s Office.
The goal of the bond referendum is to expand the middle school, creating enough room to allow sixth-graders to be relocated from the Lawrence Intermediate School.
A two-story classroom addition will be built on the north side of the school, along with theater and cafeteria improvements and an expanded gym. Safety and security measures also are included.
There will be expanded parking so Lawrence High School students do not have to park on the street. A multi-sport athletic field also is planned on the Lawrence High School campus.
The bond referendum was driven in part by plans to reconfigure the grade level distributions across the district. They will be revised to create an upper elementary school and a middle school, officials said.
The plan calls for the four elementary schools to be transformed into pre-K through second-grade schools. Grades 3-5 would be housed at the Lawrence Intermediate School, which would become an upper elementary school.
Grades 6-8 would be located in the expanded Lawrence Middle School. Students in grades 9-12 would continue to attend Lawrence High School.
The reconfigured grade distribution matches New Jersey Department of Education recommendations, said Superintendent of Schools Robyn Klim. It is organized around the criteria for the curriculum, and also takes into account children’s developmental and academic readiness.
Klim said that moving the sixth-graders to the Lawrence Middle School would make room for pre-K classes for 3- and 4-year-old children. It is anticipated that about 255 children will be enrolled in the pre-K classes in the 2025-26 school year.
The State of New Jersey has allocated money in the state budget to cover the costs of adding pre-K classes to the school district. It will cover teachers’ salaries, supplies and related expenses, officials said.
Now that the referendum has been approved, the State of New Jersey will pick up part of the tab for debt service. The state will give $9 million in state aid to the school district.
The school district is contributing $4 million from its capital reserve account, reducing the amount to be borrowed to $94.9 million.
The tax impact is $328 per year on a house assessed at the township average of $285,000 for property tax purposes. A home’s assessed value is not the same as its market value, or the sales price of the home.
A house on Fairfield Avenue was sold for $345,000 in November 2024. Its assessed value is $225,200, which means the tax impact is $259.
A house on West Long Drive was sold for $800,000. Its assessed value for property tax purposes is $527,900. The tax impact for that property is $607 per year.
