CENTRAL JERSEY: School balloting set for Wednesday

By Doug Carman, Staff Writer
   Voters in East Windsor and Hightstown will have the chance to approve or reject the East Windsor Regional School District’s proposed $75.4 million budget Wednesday, while one school board member will face a challenge for re-election.
   The proposed budget calls for a 2-percent tax rate hike for the entire district. However, after the state altered the rates by which the two municipalities must contribute to the district, Hightstown taxpayers would actually see a rate decrease of 0.6 cents per $100 of property value, while East Windsor taxpayers would have to plunk down another 2.07 cents per $100 of property value. For the average assessed home value of about $264,000, this means a savings of about $15 in Hightstown and an extra $54.90 in taxes in East Windsor.
   Meanwhile, the budget, which was approved by the school board unanimously last month, calls for 10 staff layoffs, including five teachers. Two elementary school teachers, two Hightstown High School teachers and a Kreps physical education teacher would get their pink slips next school year under the proposed budget.
   Three seats on the school board are up for election this year, although the sole East Windsor seat is the only one being challenged. School board President Alice Weisman is seeking re-election and New Brunswick Middle School math teacher Lisa Abel hopes to win her first term.
   Incumbents Suzann Fallon and Susan Lloyd, both of Hightstown, face no opposition for another three-year term.
   The polls open at 2 p.m. Wednesday and will close at 9 p.m. Hightstown residents can vote at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church on Franklin Street, while East Windsor residents have nine different locations according to their district.