WEST WINDSOR-PLAINSBORO: School board votes to keep April election

By Charley Falkenburg, Staff Writer
   WEST WINDSOR — The Board of Education on Feb. 7 joined the ranks of those New Jersey public schools that have decided to keep the annual school election in April.
   The board agreed to take a cautious approach and observe the impacts on the districts that chose to consolidate elections in November. Board president Hemant Marathe was particularly concerned about the tight time frame that was given to make the decision.
   ”We didn’t appreciate the state not giving us enough time to think of all the ramifications —all the pluses and minuses — before making the decision,” he said.
   Mr. Marathe expects the West Windsor-Plainsboro and Princeton schools districts will be the only two that will keep the elections in April.
   ”We will learn from them about the November election,” he added. “Then we will decide.”
   By keeping the April 17 election, citizens will be allowed to vote on the school budget and the annual reorganization meeting will remain on April 24.
   The bill that was passed on Jan. 10 gave towns the option to combine the school and municipal elections to save on spending and increase voter turnout. It gives voters, boards of education or local governing bodies the power to move the election to November.
   Local governments and boards of education have been debating potential pros and cons of making the move these past weeks to make a decision by the Feb. 17 deadline.
   Many boards of education and municipalities acknowledge the benefits of moving the election, but are concerned with possible partisanship and the citizens being unable to vote on the school budget if the budget is within the 2 percent cap.
   Several are also uneasy about locking the election into the November date for four consecutive years when the actual impacts remain to be seen.