Board of Education to Vote on Moving Elections to November

After discussion at its retreat earlier this month, the 9-member Board of Education plans to vote on a resolution tonight to move the school board member election from April to November, to coincide with the General Election.

If it passes by majority vote, the move will eliminate the annual voter referendum on the proposed general tax fund levy, provided the tax levy does not grow higher than two percent cap. The budget would still have to be approved by the board, and pass muster with the State Dept. of Education and the Executive County Superintendent. A public budget hearing would still be held on March 26, 2012. 

According to Board President Barbara Garrity, moving to the November election would yield a better voter turnout, save about $30,000 in direct and indirect costs, and would permit the budget to grow within cap without the additional requirement of a favorable public vote.

"On the negative side, members are concerned that school matters will be drowned out in the noise and glare of the federal and state elections, and that non-partisan school boards will be more likely to become partisan over time as they are included on the partisan election ballot," Garrity said in a statement following the Feb. 6 retreat. 

"State law requires that BOE elections be non-partisan, and we believe that children are better served by a non-partisan body focused on their educational needs," she said. 

If the district votes to make the change, members of the school board whose terms would have expired after the April 2012 election will continue to serve until the board's organization meeting, which will be held the first week in January 2013. According to the district website, the following board members are up for re-election in April 2012: Vice President Robin Wetmore and members Ray Tai and Chiung-Yin Cheng Liu.

More than 200 districts have already voted to switch to November elections for the next four years, according to the New Jersey School Boards Association. Locally, , Matawan-Aberdeen, Freehold Regional High School District,  and Rumson-Fair Haven recently agreed to move their vote to November. .

The meeting begins at 8 p.m. Feb. 15 in the Satz School library.