School bond referendum, November 3, 2026

The Branchburg Township School District has two bond questions on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot, printed as School Bond 1 and School Bond 2.

Question 1 would let the Board of Education appropriate $15,028,799 and issue bonds up to the same amount for improvements, alterations, renovations and mechanical upgrades at Stony Brook School, Whiton Elementary School (including partial roof replacement) and Branchburg Central Middle School. The ballot lists the final eligible costs as $3,485,134 for Stony Brook, $4,453,255 for Whiton and $7,090,410 for Branchburg Central Middle School, and states that state debt-service aid equals 40% of the annual debt service on those eligible costs.

Question 2 would appropriate $19,852,100 and authorize bonds up to the same amount for improvements and an addition at Stony Brook School including a gymnasium, nurse’s suite, classrooms and restrooms. The ballot prints its final eligible costs as $2,284,063, with the same 40% state debt-service aid percentage. The ballot states that Question 2 takes effect only if Question 1 is also approved.

The Board of Education put both questions on the ballot at a special meeting on August 13, 2026, adopting a resolution that sets out the questions and an explanatory statement; the minutes say it was “unanimously approved by Roll Call,” with seven members present and two absent. The explanatory statement gives the total project cost as $34,880,899, with combined final eligible costs of $17,312,862. Under the resolution, a Supplemental Debt Statement was prepared by the Township’s Chief Financial Officer and filed with the Township Clerk, and the Board agreed to fund locally any excess costs. The referendum is the Board’s; the Township Committee’s minutes record no action on it.

The district’s Referendum 2.0 portal lists the same project costs and per-school scopes, a project-cost and state-aid summary, a tax-impact calculator, and informational sessions ahead of the election. The ballot and the Board’s resolution state bond ceilings, eligible costs and the 40% aid percentage; they do not state annual debt service, interest rates or a per-household tax figure.

Voters can read the full question language on their sample ballot, the district portal’s project lists and costs, and the explainer for what the record does and does not establish.