Sea Isle City — While there are still questions about which and how many students will attend Sea Isle City’s elementary school next September, it appears a much needed roof will cover the students that are there.

The board of education heard the news at its Feb. 17 meeting that the proposed roof would cost $910,000, but that the state would fund $360,000 of the bill.

Ron Ianoale, bond counsel, presented the facts, figures and options to the school board.

“The estimate on the roof is $910,000. The school received notice that the state would issue a grant for 40 percent of that, or $360,000. The board has been able to budget $330,000 to go toward the roof,” Ianoale explained. “That leaves a balance of $210,000 for taxpayers on a $910,000 roof.”

Ianoale said the board would have two options in funding its share of the roof: bond referendum or lease-purchase agreement.

If the school board chooses to go with a bond referendum, a separate question for funds for the roof repairs would go to voters when they vote on the school budget, on April 21. The question would be seeking approval for the issuance of bonds to pay for the repairs. The total needed would be about $570,000, because the school district will not receive the approved state funds until after the project is completed, Ianoale explained.

“You would probably want to raise that full amount through the question, and then repay the $360,000 state portion when the funds are received from the state,” he said.

The lease-purchase option would require approval by the New Jersey commissioner of education, but would not require voter approval.

“You must have one public hearing, but it doesn’t require voter approval,” Ianoale said. “The board would vote on the lease-purchase, and that requires approval by two-thirds of the full board.”

The lease-purchase could be for no longer than five years, and the school district would make regular “rent” payments. Ianoale said that, with either option, the property tax impact of the $210,000 cost should be “less than $5 on a $500,000 home.”

He said that, should the district go with the bond option, it could be extended up to 20 years, but Ianoale said he didn’t think that length of time would be necessary for the dollar amount. The school district qualifies for the state grant under either option.

The school board is looking to have the work done this summer. That timeline, Ianoale said, should be considered when the board chooses which option to use to fund the project.

“I think the lease is the safest way to go, because with it you can tell your architect tomorrow to go ahead with the specifications. I am confident you will get approval from the commissioner of education, because they awarded the grant, and you have the support of the county superintendent because he has seen the condition of the roof,” Ianoale said.

If the school board chooses to put the project to a public vote in April, and it fails, the work would likely not be done before the 2009-10 school year.

“The law permits the board to appeal to the commissioner of education for a failed referendum, but it has to fail twice and the earliest you could hold a second referendum would be September,” Ianoale explained. “If you go that route, and if it is defeated, you would be looking at much higher costs because of the delay, and the school would probably not get its new roof until 2011.”

There would be additional costs, in the range of $25,000, for the lease-purchase option, he said. The additional costs include leasing company and legal fees.

“With the lease-purchase, the progress would be more rapid, and it would be more likely you can get the work done this summer,” Ianoale said. “With the bond question, what is the likelihood voters will approve it? And if the question is defeated by voters, do you turn around and do the lease? Legally you can, but politically do you do that?”

Board member Terrence Libro questioned if there would be any “repercussions if the state gives the money to the school now and, in two or three years, the school doesn’t continue to be a school.”

Libro has been adamantly opposed to sending any or all of Sea Isle’s students to another district. At present, the board is working to send the district’s fifth through eighth graders to Ocean City in September.

“The state is willing to give the district $360,000 now. I doubt they are even considering the school not being here in a few years,” Ianoale replied.

The district already has $190,000 in a capital reserve account, set aside for major repair projects, according to school Business Administrator Diane Bitting. The district also, as of June 2008, had excess surplus funds that could be applied toward the district’s share of repair costs, making up the balance of the $330,000 the district already has available toward the roof replacement.

“Using those funds would deplete the capital reserve fund, but it would not deplete the district’s surplus funds,” Bitting said.

Bitting said when a walk-through was done by the county superintendent’s office during the board’s QSAC evaluation, the district was told the repairs needed to be done.

Several members of the public urged the board to go with the lease-purchase option, to get the work done sooner.

“If you go to bond, and go to the public, you know most people will vote no,” parent Marita Bretzke said. “If you go with the lease, the roof project will move forward. Or is the plan to not repair the roof, as a way to close the school?”

Resident John Fee also said the voters would likely defeat the question.

“Probably all nine board members know the roof needs to be done. I think a referendum is a risk,” Fee said. “There are people who vote no to the budget every time that, no matter what you tell them, will vote no. A bond referendum is a risk and you can’t take that risk.”