Mahwah Township Public Schools will move ahead with $75.8 million in roof, HVAC and boiler repairs after voters approved the first question of a two-question bond referendum on March 10, while rejecting a second, larger question that would have added new gymnasiums and renovated the high school auditorium.[1]

Official results certified April 1 show Question 1 passed 2,048 to 1,822. Question 2 failed 1,586 to 2,215.[1] The tallies shifted slightly from the unofficial count reported the day after the election — 1,986 to 1,826 on Question 1, 1,534 to 2,211 on Question 2 — as mail-in and provisional ballots were added to the count over the following three weeks.[2]

The two questions were part of "Flight Path for Our Future," a combined $138.4 million bond package covering all six of the district's schools and its support buildings.[1] Question 1 funds what the district called critical infrastructure: roofing and HVAC replacement, boiler upgrades, window and door replacement, exterior brickwork, and a dedicated space for the district's 18-to-21-year-old special needs program.[2] It carries $25.1 million in state aid and adds an estimated $26 a month, or $313 a year, to the tax bill on a home assessed at the district average of $481,238.[1]

Question 2 would have added new gymnasiums at two elementary schools, a media center and music room at Betsy Ross School, a second gymnasium at the high school, an auditorium renovation, and turf field upgrades.[1] It carried only $3 million in state aid — a tenth of Question 1's — and would have added a further $31 a month, or $368 a year, on top of Question 1's increase.[1][2] Under the referendum's structure, Question 2 could only take effect if Question 1 also passed; it did, but Question 2 failed on its own terms regardless.[2]

Superintendent Michael DeTuro said the district was "grateful to the community for supporting the essential infrastructure needs outlined in Question 1."[2] With that question approved, the district said it will proceed to bond sales, engage architects and engineers to finalize project specifications, and award construction contracts to qualified bidders.[2] The Question 2 projects — the gyms, the media center and music room, the auditorium, and the turf fields — will not move forward as proposed; the district said it will continue evaluating community feedback on that portion of the plan.[1][2]

Mahwah Township Public Schools is a single K-12 district — unlike neighboring Wyckoff, which splits elementary and high school students across two separately elected boards, Mahwah runs its own high school and one board covers every grade.[3] The district's six schools are Mahwah High School, Ramapo Ridge Middle School, and four elementary schools: Joyce Kilmer, Betsy Ross, George Washington, and Lenape Meadows.[3]