By Donald Gilpin

 In unofficial results from a Tuesday, January 28 special election, Princeton residents cast their ballots in favor of all three parts of a plan that will provide $89.1 million for repairs, upgrades, and expansion to address capacity issues in the Princeton Public Schools (PPS).

“This outcome shows that voters understand that the continued success of Princeton Public Schools is vital to the community,” said Interim Superintendent of Schools Kathie Foster. “With these improvements, our district can prepare for growth and prioritize the neighborhood elementary schools and innovative educational experiences that our community values.”

With all votes counted except for provisional and what’s expected to be a just a few mail-in ballots arriving in the coming days, the tally on Question 1, calling for expansion and renovation at Community Park Elementary and the installation of new HVAC systems at Princeton High School (PHS) at a cost of $37.9M, was 2,075 (61.7 percent) Yes and 1,317 (38.83 percent) No.

On Question 2, proposing expansion and renovation at Princeton Middle School and the creation of more classroom space at PHS at a cost of $38.3M, there were 1,973 (58.32 percent) Yes votes and 1,410 (41.68 percent) No votes.

On Question 3, voters approved expansion and renovations at Littlebrook Elementary at a cost of $12.9M, with 1,890 (55.90 percent) Yes votes and 1,491 (44.10 percent) No votes.

In the results counted so far there have been 3,394 ballots cast (20.92 percent) out of 16,227 registered Princeton voters. It is anticipated that final provisional and mail-in ballots will be counted and the results officially certified in the next week or two.

The tax impact of the facilities bond on an average assessed home value of $853,136 is estimated at $532 annually.

“On behalf of the Board of Education and district administration, thank you to the voters of Princeton who supported the referendum,” said Board of Education President Dafna Kendal. “We appreciate the time all voters spent to learn about the projects and the proposals.”

She continued, “After years of careful planning, we are confident that the projects approved in the referendum will benefit students by addressing capacity issues and making needed upgrades and repairs to the HVAC system at PHS. We are very excited that the community will benefit from $19.9 million in state debt service aid to help pay for these improvements.”