Jim Stefankiewicz RED BANK — The Red Bank Regional (RBR) High School District became another local district to move school elections from April to November when the Board of Education (BOE) unanimously approved a resolution on Feb. 1.

“We think it’s great to have more voter participation in the process. Traditionally, turnout for school board elections is low and budget votes are low, so this gives more people, not that they have more of an opportunity, but more people, I think, will avail themselves of the opportunity to get involved in the election, which is great,” said RBR Superintendent Jim Stefankiewicz in an interview earlier that day.

The regional district joins two of its three sending districts, Shrewsbury and Little Silver, which already unanimously voted to move the elections at their Jan. 17 and Jan. 26 BOE meetings.

The Red Bank Public School District was expected to take action at a special BOE meeting on Feb. 7.

“The way the law is set up, if our three sending districts vote to move their elections, then we have no choice and we have to [vote to move the election] as a regional school district. However, we can also choose to just do it on our own, and we’re making the decision to do that,” explained Stefankiewicz.

The superintendent said that the new board members elected in November would take office until January, which is halfway through the school year.

“So you say is that the best for continuity? Currently, a new board member would come in at the end of April or May and you’re sort of closing out a year and hit the ground running for the new year,” said Stefankiewicz.

“Anew board member may come in and be elected and now is going to come in the middle of the school year, which may or may not be a disadvantage, depending on a variety of circumstances, so that is something I think needs to be thought about and taken into consideration. And we did. Our board has looked at those kinds of things.”

In addition to continuity during the school year, there is some concern for mixing educational and political elections, though it depends on the community, the superintendent said.

“Of course there’s a general fear of politicizing the process. Part of the reason you keep the elections away from the General Assembly and gubernatorial and presidential elections is so as not to inject politics into the race,” he said.

“Certainly following the lead of some of our sending districts, we really feel that shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Our community is very focused on quality education, and I think they are supportive of the things they know and feel are in the best interest of their kids’ education.”

The Rumson-Fair Haven Regional (RFH) High School District Board of Education is expected to vote in favor of the November school election at the Feb. 7 meeting, according to Frank Gripp, RFH business administrator.

Sending districts Rumson and Fair

Haven took favorable action during their Jan. 25 BOE meetings.

Colleen O’Connor, president of the Rumson BOE, noted that moving the election also eliminates the annual voter referendum on the proposed general tax fund levy.

“With the 2 percent cap and intense county oversight, the budget is well vetted. There is an immediate savings on not holding two separate elections. We feel the cap is appropriate in light of economic times and our responsibility to the taxpayers,” explained O’Connor.

“The November election brings out more voters, so there is actually more public participation in the process of electing people to represent the public and education interests. We always continue to find ways to save money through shared services and, no matter what, we will provide the best education for the students of Rumson.”

The boards join a growing list of districts, including Monmouth Regional and Tinton Falls, that are taking advantage of a new state law that also exempts the annual school budget from a public vote as long as the spending plan does not exceed the 2 percent cap on year-to-year increases.

“We’ve been very fortunate here that our communities have been very supportive of our budgets. In the last 15 years, we’ve basically only had one budget that did not pass, and that was in 2010 when the majority of school budgets in the state did not pass,” said Stefankiewicz.

“So our communities have traditionally been very supportive of our budgets. I think it does have a positive impact on taxpayers in that as a taxpayer, you can be assured that schoolsarenotgoingtogoabovea2percent cap on the tax levy.”

Kelly McGowan, president of the Oceanport BOE, said the board is currently reviewing the information and will discuss it at a Feb. 9 meeting.

“We may need to move on it quickly as, I believe, the state is requiring an answer by Feb. 17,” she said.

According to the state Department of Education (DOE) website, the Feb. 17 deadline for passing such resolutions was implemented in order to provide adequate time to prepare for a November election.