Holmdel BOE Moves Elections to November

The Holmdel Board of Education voted 8-0 Wednesday to move school board elections from April to November to coincide with the General Election.

It means that for the next four years, Holmdel voters will see school board candidates on the November ballot. It also means they won't vote on a school budget anymore, provided the tax levy remains at, or below, the two percent cap. And the district will save money.

"Every dollar counts, and we need to be fiscally responsible," said member Ana Vander Woude.

The New Jersey School Boards Association reports that a day before the Feb. 17 deadline, around 64%, or 342 out of 538 New Jersey school districts, have passed resolutions to move the election to November.

Although candidates names will appear on a separate section of the ballot and will not be aligned with any political party, some said they had to overcome concern that impassioned government politics will taint the officially non-partisan school board election.

Board member Ray Tai, who has served on the board for nine years, said that he seriously considered both sides of the coin, and concluded, "The whole process is flawed." There is no way to avoid politics, either in April or November, he said. 

"Even if we keep it in April, the Township Committee can also put a referendum [to raise municipal taxes] in April," he said, referring to the mayor's recent announcement that the township will seek voter approval to raise the tax rate to close a $2.5 million budget gap. Tai said he concluded that moving to November will allow the board to focus, undistracted, on containing costs in the budget.

Board member Mike Sockol agreed, saying the school budget process was "over-engineered." As long as the budget remains under cap, elected board members ought to have the authority to decide what is appropriate for the school district and children they serve, he said. "Let's do our job and hopefully voters will trust our judgment," he said. After all, the board members pay property taxes to Holmdel too, he noted.

According to Business Administrator Michael Petrizzo, the district would save about $30,000 in direct and indirect costs by not holding the April election. Those expenses include base costs of board workers, voting machine transportation, and overtime for county election personnel.

If Holmdel did not move to November, the school district would have fewer school districts to share the costs with.

One member of the public commented on the resolution before the vote. Resident Jim Shelton read an article from the Princeton Patch about the Princeton BOE's united refusal to move elections to November, mostly to avoid partisan politics. He asked the board to consider their comments.

As a consequence of the move, current board members whose three-year terms would normally be up in April are being asked to stay seated for an 8-month extension until the January re-organization.

Members Robin Wetmore, Ray Tai and Chiung-Yin Cheng Liu joined in the laughter when the group joked about the special honor and possibility of bonus pay.

Board of Education members receive no compensation for their long hours of service.