Cranbury Board of Education Election Today

Cranbury residents will be headed to the polls today to vote in the annual Board of Education elections. The township is one of just 41 across the state that opted to keep their school elections separate from the general elections in November. 

According to information on the district's website, the total general fund expenditures are close to where they have been for the past few years. The proposed budget is for $15,570,169, which is a slight increase over last year's $15,519,528. 

Out of the total budget, 49.3 percent goes to salaries, wages, and benefits while 25 percent goes to the Princeton Public Schools for high school tuition. When the latest state aid figures came from Trenton the Cranbury district received a total of $451,203, which is just $1 more than last year and just over half of what they received five years ago. 

The proposed tax levy for the upcoming budget is 1.03 percent lower than last year, according to the district. Last year's total was $15,091,151 compared to the proposed $14,936,156 to be raised in the proposed budget. In its annual budget presentation the district said "the aggregate assessed property value is slightly higher," this year after "trending downward" the past five years.

The proposed overall tax rate shows an increase of $.0499, or 1.03 cents per hundred dollars of assessed valuation. The average taxpayer, with a home assessed at $604,729 would see a tax bill of $6,231.80 according to the district. 

There are three candidates seeking full three-year terms in incumbent Pramod Chivate, longtime district educator Linda Penney, and Lindsay McDowell. Dominique Jones is running unopposed for an unexpired two-year term.

The polls will be open from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16 at Cranbury Town Hall.