EDISON - Voters rejected a $183.2 million school referendum Tuesday that targeted overcrowding in schools in the district.

The referendum was defeated by a vote of 2,855 in favor and 4,643 against, according to unofficial results.

“We are disappointed with the outcome of the referendum, but not disillusioned," Edison Superintendent of Schools Bernard F. Bragen Jr. said. "The overcrowding problem is not going away, and we will continue to find solutions to address the issue. Unfortunately, now we are limited with our options. Nonetheless, we will come to work tomorrow (Wednesday) ready to begin again and continue to settle for ‘Nothing less Than Excellence’ in the Edison Public Schools."

Voter turnout was 12.39%, according to the township.

In December, voters rejected a $189.5 million school referendum, which also targeted overcrowding. December's referendum was defeated by about a 3,600-2,600 vote, according to the school district.

Tuesday's referendum would have funded six school additions creating 96 classroom spaces, Bragen previously told MyCentralJersey.

The primary additions would have been to John P. Stevens and Edison high schools because those are the most crowded, Bragen said.

James Madison Intermediate, John Adams Middle, Lincoln Elementary and John Marshall Elementary schools also would have seen additions.

A portion of the project's cost, $31 million, was expected to be funded by debt service aid from the state. The remaining $152.2 million would have been covered by property taxes.

If approved, township residents would have seen, on average, an increase of about $215 per year or about $18 a month in the school portion of their tax bill for a home assessed at the township average of about $179,600.

Bragen said the school board has been spending between $4 million and $10 million a year to address the overcrowding issues in a "piecemeal fashion" with either annual capital expenditures or lease-purchase agreements, such as the additions recently done at Menlo Park and Woodbrook Elementary schools and the portable classrooms at Woodrow Wilson Middle School and FDR Preschool Building, Bragen said.

"That helps, but it doesn't fix the major problems," he said. "Passing the referendum frees up that annual expenditure to do other things, like making sure we have adequate space available to do full-day kindergarten. That's the goal within two years. That might mean buying a building or renting space from some of the parochial schools that are not so crowded anymore. I can't guarantee anything, but that's our number one priority. Without the referendum full day kindergarten is not a possibility. There is no way we have the space or the funding."

The district currently offers half-day kindergarten, the superintendent said.

Approval of the referendum would have also allowed the district to use that annual expenditure to upgrade some of the schools' multi-purpose rooms, fields and other things that weren't included the referendum, he said.

Email: sloyer@gannettnj.com

Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.