LAWRENCE: School board could move election date

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   Staring at a Feb. 17 deadline to decide whether to move the annual school board election, the Lawrence Township Board of Education expects to take up the issue when it meets Monday at 7 p.m. at the Lawrence High School Library.
   School districts must decide by Feb. 17 whether they want to keep the April school board election date — the third Tuesday of the month — or move the election to November and piggyback on the general election ballot.
   School board president Laura Waters said the board would discuss the issue at its meeting.
   As of Wednesday — nine days before the deadline — more than 200 of 538 school districts that submit their budgets to the voters have opted to move the annual school board election to November, according to the New Jersey School Boards Association.
   Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation — sponsored by state Senators Shirley K. Turner (D-Lawrence) and Donald Norcross (D-Camden) — last month that allows school districts to move the annual school board election date. The goal is to save money and to increase voter turnout.
   The school board election date can be moved to November if the school board approves or if the municipal governing body approves. It also can be moved by submitting a petition to the school board, provided it is signed by 15 percent of voters who cast ballots in the most recent presidential election.
   Once a school board agrees to move the annual election to November, it cannot be moved back to April until at least four school board elections have been held in November, according to the new law.
   The November general election ballot would contain the names of Democratic and Republican candidates running for federal, state, county and municipal offices, plus school board candidates — but the school board election would continue to be non-partisan. School board candidates would not run for office as Democrats or Republicans.
   ”Reducing the number of elections that take place in this state will save taxpayers a significant amount of money,” said Sen. Turner. For example, Lawrence school district officials said it costs about $25,000 to hold the annual election in April.
   ”Consolidating the school election with the November general election will ensure that more voters participate in the process, which is important to making sure school boards are held accountable for their spending decisions,” Sen. Turner said.
   The voter turnout in Lawrence for a school board election has ranged from 5 percent to 17 percent in the past seven years. The November general election voter turnout has ranged from 30 percent to 48 percent in that same timeframe, depending on whether there is a presidential election, a senatorial election or a gubernatorial election at the top of the ballot.
   Under the new law, school districts that move the election date to November would not have to submit their budget to the voters, provided that it does not exceed the tax levy cap. Any “second questions” for spending more than the school district’s cap levy would require a vote at the November election.
   Voters do not vote on the budget at the annual election in April, but on the tax levy — or property taxes — to support the budget. The tax levy is capped at 2 percent. This means the tax levy for the 2012-13 budget cannot exceed the tax levy for the 2011-12 budget by more than 2 percent.
   Currently, voters approve or reject the tax levy to support the school district’s spending plan. If voters reject the budget, it is sent to the municipal governing body for review. The governing body may reduce the budget or leave it untouched.
   In addition to voting on the school district budget’s tax levy, voters elect candidates to the school board. In Lawrence, three members of the nine-member board are elected every year on a rotating basis. The term is for three years.