Budget was defeated by 407 votes 1,548 to 1,141.
By John Tredrea
Voters on Tuesday soundly defeated the $68.7 million school budget for 2006-2007 proposed by the Hopewell Valley Regional School District.
With just over 18 percent of the district’s registered voters casting ballots, the budget was defeated by 407 votes 1,548 to 1,141. It was the first time since 1998 that a Hopewell Valley school budget had been defeated.
"It’s disappointing, but not altogether surprising," Superintendent Judy Ferguson said of the voting results. "It’s kind of a ‘perfect storm’ scenario all three towns in the district are having revaluations, people are concerned about property taxes, and they’re concerned about the state budget problems having a local impact."
Under state law, the defeated budget will be forwarded to the Valley’s three municipal governments, which will have the option of cutting the budget or leaving it intact. If they decide to cut, they can decide on a dollar amount. But, if they suggest an area or areas for cutting, school officials can consider recommendations, but are not bound by the municipal officials’ suggestions.
If municipal officials decide to cut, but cannot agree on the amount by which the budget is to be cut, that decision will be made by the state.
If the municipalities do agree on an amount, the district could cut the spending plan by that dollar figure. But, if the school board disputes the suggested reduction John Nemeth, school district business administrator said Wednesday the county superintendent of schools (on behalf of the education commissioner) will schedule a combined meeting to reach an agreement. If no agreement is reached, the school board can file an application for restoration.
The municipalities have until May 19 to make a decision and to certify general fund school tax levies. The matter goes to the state if municipal officials don’t make that deadline.
Three Hopewell Township school board candidates and one Pennington candidate, all running unopposed, were elected to the board. From the township, incumbent Linda Mitchell landed a second three-year term with 1,280 votes. Newcomer Jeffrey Bartolino also won a three-year term with 1,354 votes. Incumbent Werner Graf, who was appointed to the board in October to replace Michael Bruno, received 1,286 votes to complete the last year of Mr. Bruno’s unexpired term. Kevin Doran of Pennington landed another three-year term with 303 votes.
"I’m so disappointed so few people came out to vote," school board President Kim Newport of Hopewell Township said at the district’s administrative headquarters moments after the vote was tallied. "What it shows is that the community is allowing a small percentage of people to decide how our schools are going to be run."
The defeated spending plan was 6.58 percent higher than last year’s budget.
If Valley voters had passed the proposed school spending plan, school taxes for an average Hopewell Township property would have gone up an estimated $851 next year. The estimated annual increases in the district’s two other towns would have been less $432 in Pennington and $437 in Hopewell Borough due to a tax equalization formula the state requires the district to use.
The budget was defeated in eight of the district’s 10 voting districts. The largest margin of defeat was in District 2, which votes at the Union Fire Company and Rescue Squad building on Route 29 in Hopewell Township, where the budget was defeated 227-101. It was defeated 228-167 in District 1, which includes the large Brandon Farms development in southern Hopewell Township. The closest tally was in township District 4, which votes at the school district administration building. It was passed by three votes there, 116-113. Overall, Hopewell Township defeated the budget by 429 votes, 1,186-757. Hopewell Borough also defeated it, 172-144. Pennington Borough, which in many school elections has overwhelmingly approved the budget, passed it by 58 votes, 232-174.
School tax rates in all three towns have changed considerably from last year due to the county-mandated property revaluations. Prior to the election, school officials estimated that Hopewell Borough’s school tax rate would decrease from $2.26 per $100 of assessed value to $1.08. Other estimates are that Hopewell Township’s would decrease from $1.95 to $1.12 and Pennington’s from $2.33 to $1.10.
Therefore, it was estimated that the owner of a Hopewell Borough property assessed at the new borough average of $451,873 would have paid $4,880 in school taxes if the budget passed. In Pennington, the owner of a house assessed at the new borough average of $529,003 would have paid $5,819 in school taxes. In Hopewell Township, the owner of a house assessed at the new township average of $562,573 would have paid $6,301.
The defeated budget added chemistry, math and physics teachers at Central High School, where enrollment continues to grow, and two additional special education teachers at Bear Tavern Elementary. Adding the special education teachers would have allowed several students, now bused out-of-district for specialized programming, to remain in-district. Out-of-district placements for special education are one of Hopewell Valley’s fastest growing budget areas, estimated to climb by 19.5 percent. Overall, special education is expected to grow by 12 percent in 2006-2007, reaching $9.9 million.
The defeated spending plan also added two more custodians to the staff at Timberlane Middle School, where a 29,626-square-foot addition is expected to open in January 2007.
A restructuring of the administrative team saved $180,000, school officials said. Other reductions in spending include $75,000 from the technology budget and $25,000 from the athletics/extracurricular activities account.
Also in the defeated budget, the district projected savings of more than $100,000 as a result of changes in transportation policy. The savings result from the elimination of four, nonhazardous courtesy bus runs at Stony Brook Elementary and Toll Gate Grammar, as well as the elimination of bus service through cul-de-sacs districtwide. Students living on cul-de-sacs will now be required to walk to the end of their street.
The budget nixed by the electorate also included hiring eight safety officers, one each at the elementary schools and two each at Timberlane and CHS. The new, unarmed safety officers would have been responsible for safety-related issues, including traffic flow at arrival and dismissal times, the supervision of hallways, vandalism and theft prevention and the supervision of fire and lockdown drills.

