School Board Election Moved to November

The East Windsor Regional School District Board of Education voted Monday to move the school board election to November and eliminate voter approval of the school budget, unless it exceeds the 2 percent state-mandated tax cap. 

The elimination of the vote on the district’s budget appeared to be the driving force behind most board member’s decisions on voting in favor of the switch.

“We can't count on people voting yes on our budget for reasonable reasons, let's say, for sound reasons,” board member Suzann Fallon said during the discussion portion of the meeting. “It would just save us so much time and energy and heartache to not have to have a vote on the budget.”

, however, the 2010-2011 budget was defeated by almost 600 votes, the Trenton Times reported.

The main concern raised among several board members was whether the November election would make the school board elections political. School board elections are currently non-partisan. 

“I like the idea of not having to vote on a budget, and knowing that if we are at cap, it’s guaranteed. My concern again is the politicization of moving it to November,” board member Susan Lloyd said during the meeting.

This concern was enough for Lisa Abel to vote against the change, which passed with a 7-1 vote. Abel said she voted against the resolution because she believes the move would cause the school board elections to become political.

“I wanted to keep politics out of where I am,” Abel said. “I purely believe that politicians need to get their hands out of the schools.”

During the discussion, Superintendent Edward Forsthoffer explained details of the new law, and said the move would save the district money.

He estimated there would be a $22,000 to $25,000 in savings because the district would not be paying to hold the April elections, however he said it was unclear if they would need to foot any of the bill in the November election. 

Forsthoffer also explained to board members before the vote that if the budget ever exceeded the state-mandated cap, only the money that went over the 2 percent cap would go on the ballot for voters.  

“That’s a do or die situation, if it fails there’s no recourse, that money’s gone and you’re kept at your 2 percent cap,” Forsthoffer said.

During public comments, Deborah Macmillan, president of the League of Women Voters of East Windsor-Hightstown, said the League does not have a position on the legislation, but said personally she thinks board members should think about the switch because there will be a very different population of people at the polls. 

"If you're really sitting on a ridge, not quite sure which way to go, the thing of having more people involved in the schools has to be good for getting people to run, has to be good for people to think about it," Macmillan said.

The New Jersey School Boards Association expressed support for the new law, noting the public doesn’t vote on other government budgets.

“Proposed budgets undergo thorough review by the state Department of Education to ensure efficiency, and they are controlled by the same 2 percent tax levy cap as are municipal and county budgets, which are not presented to voters,” New Jersey School Boards Association Executive Director Marie S. Bilik said in a statement. 

Current board members will remain on the school board through 2012, and seats up for re-election will take effect in January 2013, according to Forsthoffer.

Board of Education President Robert Laverty did not attend the meeting.