Candidates to attend Tuesday forum

East Windsor Regional School District candidates will debate on April 5.

By: Marisa Maldonado
   HIGHTSTOWN — A debate among school board candidates for the East Windsor Regional School District will take place Tuesday, co-sponsored by the East Windsor/Hightstown League of Women Voters and a Hightstown High School class.
   All four candidates will be at the debate to answer questions submitted by the audience and high school students, said Carolyn Rosen, voter service chair for the League of Women Voters. Incumbents Suzann Fallon, 53, of South Main Street, Susan Lloyd, 42, of South Main Street, and newcomer Randy Shuler, 39, of Franklin Street, are vying for two Hightstown seats. Incumbent Alice Weisman, 47, of Dorchester Drive, is running unopposed for the sole East Windsor seat.
   "I was hoping people would come this year because of the budget and the tax increase," Ms. Rosen said of the debate, which takes place from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the media room at Hightstown High School, 25 Leshin Lane. "I think that’s one of the main problems, plus test scores are an issue."
   The district’s budget includes a 26-cent tax rate increase for East Windsor, which would result in the homeowners paying $3.08 in taxes per $100 of assessed value. Hightstown residents would see a 18-cent tax rate hike, to $3.19.
   A resident of Hightstown whose home is assessed at the borough average of $120,000 would pay $3,828 in school taxes, $216 more than last year. An East Windsor resident with a home assessed at the township average of $165,000 would pay $5,082, $429 more than last year.
   Residents will vote on candidates and the school budget on April 19.
   Attendance at the debate, which the league has sponsored for about 20 years, varies between 50 and 60 people when there is a hot-button issue and 10 to 20 residents in other years, Mr. Rosen said. But voter turnout on election day is consistently low, she said.
   "Some people come, but just the voting itself is not high," she said. "I think that’s true all over the state."
   Ms. Rosen said she hopes events such as Candidates’ Night will encourage residents to vote. The debate will be rebroadcast on Channel 27 so all residents can hear the candidates’ views, she said.
   The questions will be partially written by students the Choosing to Participate class, taught by Scott Kercher at Hightstown High. Audience members also can submit questions on index cards prior to the event.
   The questions probably will include everything from the budget to tax increases to the pending renewal of teachers’ contracts, Ms. Rosen said.
   "Again," Ms. Rosen said, "you’re back to money, money, money."