Pitman board highlights referendum projects to repair century‑old school buildings

The Pitman Boro School District Board of Education outlined referendum projects intended to preserve school buildings the district described as running "from 50 to over 100 years old," saying investing in facilities is essential to keep the schools as community assets.

A presenter told the meeting that the district's schools are "beloved and well maintained, but our buildings are aging," and argued that targeted investment is needed to sustain the town and its schools.

A committee member said the board selected the referendum projects from priorities identified by "over 100 members of the community" during the district's strategic planning process. The committee member said the board targeted projects to maximize state aid, adding that "a special type of state aid is a guaranteed way for us to secure 34% of the project costs." That percentage is presented as the board's estimate and was not independently verified in the meeting record.

No formal motion or vote on placing a referendum on a ballot was recorded in the provided transcript. The discussion focused on the rationale for the proposed projects and the community-driven process used to select them. The district did not specify dollar amounts, a timeline for a ballot measure, or which exact projects would be included in the referendum during the recorded remarks.

The board's next procedural steps, including any formal vote to place projects before voters, were not specified in the transcript.