Warren County school districts weigh in on proposed changes to school election process

Pending legislation revising New Jersey's school election process might make administrators breathe a little easier, but some officials fear the proposed changes will taint the system with partisan politics.

As school districts in Warren County await their state aid figures, state legislators are considering a bill that would move school elections from April to November and eliminate public voting on school budgets under state caps. Voters would only cast ballots on additional funding requests.

Many administrators and school board members welcome the idea of not putting such budgets to a public vote. But other officials raised concerns about injecting school business into the general election.

The November election also could leave school officials awaiting a public vote on budget funds over state caps -- several months into that budget year, officials said.

"Everything is in such flux right now it's nerve-racking, to be honest with you," Phillipsburg Superintendent Mark Miller said.

The bill, known as Senate Bill S-1861, was approved by the state Assembly in May. Last month, the state Senate's education committee signed off on the bill and it is now awaiting a vote before the full Senate.

Sen. Shirley Turner, D-Mercer, the bill's sponsor, said she is hopeful it will be voted on by the spring, but it might not take effect until next year.

The bill is meant to eliminate the cost of April elections and improve voter turnout through a November ballot, Turner said. Addressing concerns about the legislation, Turner said school board elections are already political in many areas. School districts could use temporary budgets until voters decide on the funding over state caps, she said.

"We know we can't continue having all these elections." Turner said. "Taxpayers don't have any more money for us to waste and spend."

School districts need to continue presenting budgets in a transparent manner and be held accountable, but eliminating the public vote on budgets under cap is long overdue, said Kevin Brennan, executive Warren County superintendent.

Reacting to other financial issues apart from school spending, voters have previously rejected budgets that meet state caps or even show a tax decrease, Brennan said. Out of 22 school budgets last year in the county, 19 were at or below state caps, Brennan said.

If a district has to seek voter approval for additional funding under the proposed legislation, however, crafting a temporary budget adds another headache and could take up valuable time and resources, said Bruce Smith, president of the Hackettstown School Board.

With other races to be decided, the November ballot could become overwhelming for voters to focus on the school funding, Smith said.

"I also think you might have a lot more less-informed voters," Smith said. "How much time do people have to really study these things?"

One of the main arguments against the legislation is that school board elections would become politicized in November.

"I just think it adds a factor to a process that isn't a factor right now," Brennan said.

While she believes politics could become a factor in other parts of the state, Warren Hills Regional School Board President Karen Graf said she doesn't think school board elections would become very political in Warren County.

"It's not about politics," Graf said. "We just do it because we love serving on the school board."