BORDENTOWN, NJ – Local developer Kevin Johnson, known locally for the Team 85 complex and other projects along Route 130, is offering the Bordentown Regional School District $1 million to help close the budget gap. But, in turn, he is asking the Township to approve two of his proposed projects that he says will benefit the community.
As previously reported by TAPinto, the District is facing a shortfall of approximately $1 million that has led to the creation of the ONEBordentown plan that would significantly realign the school district. On March 18, Interim Superintendent Edward J. Forsthoffer III presented the tentative 2025-26 budget that would cut roughly 46 administrative, teaching and support staff positions, reduces Basic Skills Instruction, eliminates middle school sports, the YMCA trip and the 7th grade environmental education program, forgoes the purchase of two 54-passenger buses intended to replenish the school district’s fleet, reduces the amount of summer curriculum writing, lowers the amount of summer extra pay and reduces maintenance, electrical and plumbing expenses.
Johnson says that he has a proposal to stop these cuts, and infuse a large sum of money into the school district.
According to Johnson's letter to the Bordentown Township governing body, obtained and reviewed by TAPinto, Johnson says that he has been approached by members of the community to provide before-and after-school care for children that could be on the chopping block. Even though the school district consists of Bordentown Township, Bordentown City, and Fieldsboro, Johnson only addressed the proposal to the elected leaders of the Township.
In the four-page letter, Johnson criticizes the actions of the Bordentown Township elected officials and administrator.
“The maintaining of the population of the school system and planned growth is a balancing act, and the administration has guided the Township not just into no growth of the student population, but it is experiencing a reduction of school-aged children,” wrote Johnson. “This has jeopardized our education systems and crushed our educators.”
“Why? Because the administrator cannot balance the equities or foresee the consequences of his actions,” added Johnson who further criticized officials by writing, “you want to protect your ‘Highway Commercial’ zoning, but there has been no true commercial development, the township is littered with motels and dilapidated properties. Then you have wrongly attempted to satisfy your 4th round COAH obligation by wrongfully extending the deed restrictions in violation of your own agreement, losing any potential rates from such development."
The financial infusion into the school district, however, would come if the Township agreed to the approval of two developments as laid out in Johnson's letter to the Township.
“So, I offer a solution to protect our students, teachers, and the taxpayers of our community. If the Township is willing to work together to better the community by helping to bring the projects to the Committee on February 24, 2025 to fruition, I will agree to make a one-time donation of $500,000 for each project. With a total aggregate of One Million Dollars 00/100 ($1,000,000.00) to fund the Bordentown School district budget deficiency for the next two (2) years."
Johnson refers to two buildings in the letter that had been proposed to the Township Committee, but his letter did not provide specifics. The February 24, 2025 Bordentown Township Committee meeting agenda indicated a presentation regarding a “request for consideration of zoning changes to allow for residential development in the Highway Commercial Zone.”
According to the minutes of the February 24, 2025 Township Committee meeting, David Silber, an attorney representing K Johnson Enterprises, gave a presentation requesting consideration of zoning changes to allow for residential development in the Highway Commercial Zone.
TAPinto obtained the presentation by K Johnson Enterprises which provides depictions of proposed development along Route 130. In the proposal, K Johnson Enterprises would expand its Team 85 Campus by adding two additional developments to its portfolio.
First, Bordentown Professional Plaza on Route 130, which K Johnson Enterprises says is 35,000 square feet of office space that is currently 50 percent vacant. They propose to redevelop this site into 78 “Stacked Townhouses” – at a breakdown of 66 market rate townhomes and 12 affordable townhomes.
Second, the developer proposes an expansion to the Team Campus property by converting the currently approved 48,000 sq. ft. office building to 160 units of 55+ apartments – that would be a breakdown of 136 market-rate apartments and 24 affordable townhomes.
K Johnson Enterprises says that it has invested more than $200 million into Bordentown Township and further expansion of the Team Campus would provide tax ratables. The company contends that approval of these plans would “allow the community to align with the current market conditions and fulfill a portion of the COAH obligations of the Township.”
When asked for a response to Johnson's letter, Bordentown Township told TAPinto that their legal team has responded directly to it. However, they did not wish to provide public comment.
There is a possible alternative to taking the $1 million in funds from Johnson, however.
The School District has applied for a new state initiative within the New Jersey Department of Education to obtain $1 million “to bring the district to what is deemed an ‘adequate level’ in areas such as educational opportunities and infrastructure.” The application, if approved by the New Jersey Department of Education, would also almost certainly raise property taxes an additional amount than already proposed for many district taxpayers, Forsthoffer has said.
It is unclear if the injection of funding offered by Johnson would allow for the ONEBordentown plan to be abandoned.
The Board of Education is expected to vote on the final school budget on May 7. For information about upcoming School Board meetings, visit https://www.bordentown.k12.nj.us/.