On November 6, Election Day, in addition to your important choice for the 45th President of the United States and members of Congress, you will be asked to vote on Public Question No. 1, the “Building Our Futures” Bond Act, S-2500.

You will see the following “Interpretive Statement” on your Ballot:

Interpretive Statement

Approval of this act will allow the State to issue bonds in the total principal amount of $750 million. Proceeds from the bonds will be used to provide grants to New Jersey's public and private colleges and universities to construct and equip higher education buildings to increase academic capacity.

Bond proceeds will be allocated as follows:

- $300 million for public research universities;

- $247.5 million for State colleges and other State universities;

- $150 million for county colleges; and

- $52.5 million for private institutions with an endowment of $1 billion or less.

Public and private colleges and universities which receive grants will be required to provide funds to support 25% of a project.

We at Brookdale urge to you vote “YES” on the Bond Act, for many reasons:

1. It has been over 20 years since the state has had a capital improvement bond for higher education.  During those 20 years, costs of improvement projects have been passed along to students through tuition increases and to taxpayers through increases in county property taxes.

2. Our county colleges and four year institutions are bursting at the seams with tremendous increases in student populations.  We need the infrastructure to support this growth.

3. For many years the state has witnessed a “brain drain,” as many New Jersey students leave the state to attend college elsewhere; this impacts on quality of life issues and tax revenues.  Strengthening our higher education infrastructure will go a long way in keeping our students home in New Jersey.

4. Finally, during these difficult economic times, it is necessary for government to spur economic growth through capital projects such as this.  General obligation bonds for $750,000,000 will provide jobs and help reduce unemployment.

Brookdale, with a 25% match, would receive $16 million dollars in much-needed capital money - allowing the College to build out the Higher Education Center at Wall (former Camp Evans site).

The Wall Center (pictured below) is home to the Communiversity, a partnership of six colleges currently bringing baccalaureate and master’s courses and programs to residents of Monmouth County.  Using Bond monies to bring the Wall campus up to its full potential means Brookdale could free up existing funds to use on critical infrastructure projects and deferred maintenance at other locations including Hazlet, Freehold, and Neptune.

Investment in New Jersey’s colleges is an investment in our future economy - and deserving of our support.  

Please vote “Yes” to Building Our Futures on November 6!