Bill would move school election, end budget vote
BY CHRIS MURINO Staff Writer

New Jersey Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden) has introduced legislation that would eliminate the state's April school election and move the election for school board members to the date of the November general election.

The bill recently had a hearing before the Assembly Education Committee. Under the terms of the bill, residents of the Garden State would give up the right to vote on their local school budget unless their school district's proposed spending plan exceeds statutory spending or tax levy limits.

The bill is co-sponsored by Assemblymen David Wolfe (R-Ocean and Monmouth), Jerry Green (D-Union) and Wayne DeAngelo (D-Mercer and Middlesex.)

DeAngelo said he believes the turnout for New Jersey's school board election would improve if the date of that election coincided with the November general election.

At the present time, some school districts struggle to convince 10 percent of the registered voters in a municipality to vote in the April school election.

"It would triple, if not quadruple, the amount of voters that would attend," DeAngelo said. "This has a large impact to your life. I'm really dumbfounded by how something this big (a Board of Education election) can get such little attention."

Green said it has become increasingly difficult for school board members to run effectively.

"The campaigns have become very expensive," Green said. "They often have small groups who have their own personal agenda in the town or district."

Green said the budget vote is proposed to be eliminated because "we have more control over certain districts just wasting money, which in the past was a major concern."

DeAngelo added that when a school tax levy is rejected by voters, the municipal governing body has a short time frame to review the school district's budget and recommend reductions in spending.

"I had 30 days to deliberate and decide on what I'm going to cut," said DeAngelo, a former member of the Hamilton Township Council. "It's really not financially responsible to do it that way. [The school budget] is $170 million more than the municipal budget."

DeAngelo said he is open to other ideas to improve voter turnout, but he has not heard any.

The bill was released by the Assembly Education Committee with a vote of 10-2. Roberts will now decide when to post the bill for a floor vote.