Edison voters approve rebuilding James Monroe School

• Edison voters have approve an %2418.6 million bond to rebuild the James Monroe Elementary School.
• The bond was approved by an unofficial vote of 2%2C022 to 1%2C263.
• The 1960s school was destroyed in a March 22%2C 2014 fire.
• The district hopes to have a new school built by September 2016.

EDISON – Voters have approved plans to help pay for the rebuilding of the James Monroe Elementary School.

Residents approved an $18.6 million bond to help finance the Sharp Road school that was destroyed by a six-alarm fire last March by an unofficial vote of 2,022 to 1,263, according to the Edison Clerk's Office.

"I am very pleased with the outcome this evening. We look forward to continuing the journey to rebuild the James Monroe School," Superintendent of Schools Richard O'Malley said in an e-mail statement.

The district needed to secure the funds so construction of the school can be completed within a two-year time frame.

The school is expected to cost about $28 million to rebuild. The district's insurance company, New Jersey School Insurance Group, has provided about $9.5 million. The district has filed suit against the insurance company for not funding the full cost of the new school. Any additional funds the district receives from the insurance company as a result of the lawsuit will be used to pay the bond debt.

Voter approval of the bond will cost the average Edison taxpayer about $21 a year.

A presentation and newsletter about the referendum was posted on the district website in recent weeks. By approving the bond the district will get about $4 million in state debt aid and avoid nearly $2 million in penalties paid to the Diocese of Metuchen for use of the former St. Cecelia's School in the Iselin section of Woodbridge, a building housing the school since last September.

The new school will include mandated items such as fire sprinklers, a gymnasium, cafeteria, media center, handicapped-accessible facilities and nine additional classrooms for the school's nearly 500 students. When the school was built in the 1960s fire sprinklers were not required under the construction code.

In addition, the new school is expected to be 67,775 square feet. The original school was 40,000 square feet. A portion of the school will be two floors in order to fit the larger school on the original footprint.

A cigarette discarded in a trash can by a school custodian is believed to have sparked the March 22, 2014 fire that destroyed the Sharp Road building.

The fire led to an outpouring of supplies and monetary donations from people throughout the country.

Staff Writer Suzanne Russell: 732-565-7335; srussell@mycentraljersey.com