Cinnaminson Township residents headed to the polls Tuesday to decide the fate of a $76 million school bond referendum, the largest in the district's history, split into two separate questions covering everything from basic building repairs to a new artificial turf stadium. Voting ran from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at six township polling sites, and the outcome could reshape how the district handles a decade of steady enrollment growth.
The ballot broke the borrowing request into two distinct pieces. According to South Jersey Media, Question 1 asked voters to approve $57.7 million for fundamental building, security, and infrastructure repairs across all five district schools, while Question 2 sought an additional $18.3 million for elective expansions and athletic upgrades — but only if Question 1 passed first. That structure let residents separate essential fixes from discretionary extras when marking their ballots, as detailed in coverage from FOX 29 Philadelphia.
Overcrowded Classrooms Drove the Push
District leaders framed the vote as an urgent response to years of population growth. Cinnaminson Public Schools Superintendent Stephen Cappello reported that enrollment climbed by roughly 600 students over the past decade to nearly 2,900, as reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer. That surge has forced the district to spend millions operating six modular trailer units, referred to internally as “learning cottages,” just to keep pace with the overflow.
Ballotpedia's 2024 enrollment figures put the district's total at 2,914 students. That figure underscores the scale of the enrollment addressed by the referendum's core ask — 20 new permanent classrooms.
Where the New Classrooms Would Go
The bond package would build six new classrooms at Cinnaminson Memorial School, an eight-classroom addition at Eleanor Rush Intermediate School, and six new pre-K classrooms at New Albany Elementary School, the station's report notes. Those additions are aimed squarely at retiring the trailer units and giving the district permanent space to match its swollen enrollment.
Question 2's discretionary package centers on an $18.3 million overhaul of the high school's athletic complex, per the same account. The plan includes a new synthetic turf field, a replaced track, a new concession and restroom building, and the conversion of a front multi-purpose grass field into artificial turf — upgrades that would only move forward if voters also approved Question 1.
What It Would Cost Homeowners
For a Cinnaminson homeowner with the district's average assessed property value of $236,538, approving Question 1 alone would raise annual property taxes by $399.68, or about $33.25 a month, according to a breakdown from FOX 29 Philadelphia. Passing Question 2 as well would tack on another $160.08 per year, pushing the combined annual increase to $559.76, or roughly $46.65 monthly, if both measures passed.
Some of that burden would be offset by state help. New Jersey's Debt Service Aid program is estimated to cover up to $17.9 million of the total project costs, reimbursing eligible construction debt and easing the load on local taxpayers, per South Jersey Media's reporting. An earlier bond was also approved: Cinnaminson voters approved a $40 million referendum in September 2014 that funded secure entrance vestibules, electrical upgrades, and a new high school gymnasium, according to the Inquirer.
Part of a Broader Statewide Pattern
Cinnaminson and Clementon School District were the only two districts in South Jersey's tri-county area holding special bond referendums Tuesday, part of a wider statewide trend in which three New Jersey districts collectively requested more than $300 million in capital borrowing this cycle, the Inquirer reported. New Jersey permits school districts to schedule special bond elections on four designated dates each year, making Tuesday's vote one piece of a larger statewide financing push playing out simultaneously in other communities.
Whether Cinnaminson residents ultimately backed both questions, just Question 1, or neither will determine how quickly the district can retire its trailer classrooms and whether the high school gets its long-discussed stadium makeover. For a township balancing genuine overcrowding against the sting of a second major tax hike in just over a decade, the referendum's two-question format gave voters a rare chance to draw their own line between necessity and extra.
