By Doug Carman, Staff Writer
Voters approved the East Windsor Regional School District’s $75.4 million budget Wednesday, with 1,119 votes, or 54.6 percent of the ballots cast, in favor of the measure and 929 votes against it, the school district announced on its website.
EWRSD Superintendent Ed Forsthoffer said he was pleased with the budget’s passage, especially after the electorate defeated last year’s spending plan.
”These are still difficult economic times and it was important that the Board of Education and my administration put together a fiscally efficient budget that would allow us to maintain our current program,” Dr. Forsthoffer wrote in an e-mail. “I am very appreciative of our residents for supporting the schools.”
Hightstown and East Windsor residents voted in similar proportions, except for District 9 in East Windsor. In that district, where voters reported to the Police Athletic League office, 149 voters opposed the budget while 147 voted in favor of it.
The budget, approved by the school board in March before appearing on the ballot Wednesday, will call for a $15 decrease in taxes for the average Hightstown property owner but a tax hike of about $55 for their East Windsor counterparts.
The budget also calls for 10 staff layoffs, including five teachers.
In the race for one East Windsor seat on the regional school board one without any visible campaigning by either candidate New Brunswick Middle School teacher Lisa Abel, a political novice, defeated three-term board member and President Alice Weisman by a vote of 773-579.
Ms. Abel, reached by e-mail Thursday morning, said she filed at the last minute for the election and never expected to win.
”I first heard the news when a friend of mine called, waking me up. In shear disbelief, I went online to check the results. There it was I won,” Ms. Abel said.
After checking a few more sources to verify the results, Ms. Abel said she then received an e-mail from Dr. Forsthoffer, who welcomed her to the board.”
Ms. Weisman said Thursday morning that said she was disappointed with her loss and was figuring out what else she can do with the school district, even though she was “thrilled” and “relieved” that the budget passed.
”It’s all new to me. This is nine years of my life and I really don’t know what I’m going to do at this point,” Ms. Weisman said. “I still have children in the district. I spent the last nine years very focused and very involved. … That’s still important to me.”
Incumbents Suzann Fallon and Susan Lloyd, who ran unopposed, were re-elected to two Hightstown seats on the board. Ms. Fallon received 243 votes while 233 ballots were cast for Ms. Lloyd.
Ms. Abel will begin her term Monday evening at the school board’s reorganization meeting.
Voters steadily went in and out of Kreps Middle School’s gymnasium in East Windsor and St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Hightstown on Wednesday afternoon.
Gene Kearn, a South Plainfield teacher who lives in East Windsor, said he was seeing a similar struggle there, where 134 teachers would be laid off if their budget passed. He said he would prefer paying extra property taxes rather than seeing the schools faltering.
”We’re going to pay high taxes here anyway,” said Mr. Kearn, who said he voted for the budget and voted for Ms. Abel. “If they don’t want to pass the budget, the schools will go down.”
Hightstown resident Linda Kuhn, on the other hand, said she’d had enough.
”Our taxes are too much. Somebody’s got to stop it,” Ms. Kuhn said after voting against the budget. Though she added that she knew taxes weren’t going up for Hightstown residents, the message needed to be sent. “The free ride’s over.”
East Windsor resident Alyson Gottlieb, who said she supported the budget, looked at her daughter when asked about her vote.
”She’s going to start kindergarten next year. I want her to have as many programs as possible,” Ms. Gottlieb said. “They told us to vote ‘yes’ at the school.”

