The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.Tuesday.
By:Lea Kahn Staff Writer
Voters will go to the polls Tuesday to elect three school board members and vote on the school district’s proposed tax levy to support the proposed $61.5 million operating budget for 2006-2007.
The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Three candidates incumbent school board member Michael Brindle and newcomers Thomas Patrick and Kevin Pollock are running for three seats on the Lawrence Township Board of Education. The term is for three years.
Mr. Brindle, 60, is seeking his sixth term on the board. The Puritan Avenue resident is an instrumental music teacher in the Hopewell Valley Regional School District. Mr. Brindle and his wife have lived in Lawrence for 34 years. He has one daughter who is a graduate of the Lawrence school system.
Mr. Patrick, 59, teaches finance at The College of New Jersey. He lives on Van Kirk Road with his wife. Mr. Patrick’s three grown children are graduates of the Lawrence school system.
Mr. Pollock, 32, is an attorney who is a partner in the Pennington-based law firm of Thompson and Pollock. He lives on Gallo Court with his wife and two daughters, a 4-year-old and a newborn. His 4-year-old daughter will be enrolled in the school system in the fall.
Voters also will be asked to act on the proposed $56.5 million tax levy to support the proposed 2006-07 operating budget of $61.5 million.
The district’s proposed budget carries a tax rate increase of 9 cents. The tax rate will rise from $1.96 per $100 of assessed value to $2.05. This means the owner of a house assessed at the township average of $164,117 would pay $3,364 to support the 2006-07 budget. This is an increase of $148.
The school district is slated to receive $4.5 million in state aid and $465,538 in tuition from Washington Township to pay for educating its high school students at Lawrence High School in 2006-07. The property tax levy makes up the difference between state aid and tuition payments to support the budget.
The Lawrence school district is losing $1.2 million in tuition revenue for 2006-07, as Washington enters the final year of its sending-receiving relationship with the school district. Washington recently built its own high school.
School district officials cited several "cost drivers" as the reasons for the $1.3 million increase in the 2006-07 budget. The cost drivers include employee salary raises and increases in health insurance, Social Security and pension benefits. Increases in utilities and transportation costs also are factors.
Cost-saving steps proposed by school district officials include improving employee attendance and reducing costs for substitute teachers, cutting the administration’s travel budgets and reducing the number of special education students sent out of the district for education.
The district also plans to increase the prescription drug co-pay at pharmacies for its employees, require a new deductible on their dental plans and new co-pays for the district’s health insurance plan.
Voters who live in Polling District 1, comprising general election districts 1, 4, 7, 15 and 20, will cast their ballots at the Lawrenceville Fire Department on Phillips Avenue.
Voters who live in Polling District 2, which is made up of general election districts 2, 5, 9 and 10, will vote at the Slackwood Elementary School on Princeton Pike.
Voters who live in Polling District 3, which includes general election districts 3 and 6, will vote at the Eldridge Park Elementary School on Lawn Park Avenue.
Voters who live in Polling District 4, which is made up of general election districts 8, 12 and 16, will cast their ballots at Lawrence High School on Princeton Pike.
Voters who live in Polling District 5, which includes general election districts 11 and 14, will vote at the Ben Franklin Elementary School on Princeton Pike.
Voters who live in Polling District 6, which is made up of general election districts 13, 17, 18, 19 and 21, will vote at the Lawrenceville Elementary School on Craven Lane.

