LAWRENCE: School vote to stay in April

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   Bucking the trend toward moving the annual school board election to November, the Lawrence Township Board of Education voted, 5-4, to keep the annual school election in April at its meeting on Monday.
   More than 300 school boards have voted to make the move since the option became law last month, according to the New Jersey School Boards Association website.
   School board members Murali Aiyar, Jo Ann Groeger, Leon Kaplan, Bill Michaelson and Thomas Patrick voted to keep it in April. Board members Michael Brindle, Deborah Cherry, Kevin Van Hise and Laura Waters wanted to move it to November.
   Outlining the proposal before the school board, Ms. Waters — the school board president — said that moving the election to November would eliminate a public vote on the school district budget unless it exceeds the 2-percent cap on property tax rate increases.
   ”There are a number of considerations that need to be talked about. Some of you have reached out to me, but there needs to be a public discussion. We have to stay focused on the benefits,” she said. One of the downsides that had been raised is the possibility of “politicizing” the school board election if it is held in November, she said.
   Moving the date from April to November “is not a short-term decision,” Ms. Waters said. The school board would be committed to keeping the election date in November for four years before it could reconsider the issue.
   Mr. Brindle said he had performed some research on the issue. He said that while the state school boards association had projected 15 or 20 percent of school districts would make the move, more than half have voted to switch to November. The deadline to decide for this year is Feb. 17.
   Mr. Brindle said he had considered the issue of politicizing the school board elections, but the state law that allows the move makes it clear that school board candidates would not be identified as Democrats or Republicans. A candidate would continue to run “at large,” and not to represent northern Lawrence or southern Lawrence, he added.
   Mr. Kaplan, who is the school board vice president, offered several arguments against moving the election date to November and noted that “it is a complex issue.”
   Moving the election to November would save about $25,000, but that is a “very small amount” of money in a $65 million budget, Mr. Kaplan said. And while more people turn out to vote in the general election, they may not be as informed about school issues as voters who come out specifically to vote in the April election, he said.
   A November vote also means the school district budget would not be put before the voters, “but some people don’t think it’s a bad idea” to have to explain the budget to the public, he said. It would force the school district to be “disciplined” and “restrained” if the budget had to be put in front of the voters, he said.
   Mr. Kaplan pointed out that in the last five years, the school district’s budget and various referendums have been approved by voters — despite the poor economy. The voters deserve more credit than they may have been given, he said.
   Mr. Kaplan also discounted the belief that voters would reject the school budget because it will be on the same ballot as a request to approve a 9-cent hike in the municipal property tax rate. That is just speculation, he said, adding that “no one knows” what the result will be.
   ”You need to have faith in the electorate,” Mr. Kaplan said.
   There is no need to rush to change the election date, he said. The Princeton Regional School District and the West Windsor-Plainsboro Public School District are keeping the election in April.
   ”Let’s see what the unintended consequences are (of moving the election to November),” Mr. Kaplan said.
   Several school board members appeared to have been swayed by Mr. Kaplan’s argument, including Ms. Cherry, who said he had “raised some issues.” It is not possible to know whether the school board elections would become political ones, she said, adding that “I do have some concerns about the perception of the school board becoming politically inclined.”
   Mr. Aiyar said that initially, he was inclined to move to the election to November, but there is no harm in waiting to see what happens in other districts. If people are interested in education, they will vote — whether the election is held in April or November, he said.
   Nevertheless, Mr. Brindle said he was “terrified” that voters would reject the school district budget along with the municipal tax rate increase question. He dismissed the suggestion that politics would become a problem if the election is moved to November.
   Mr. Van Hise pointed out that under the law, Township Council could move the school board election to November. He said he did not know what would be learned by waiting to move the election date, noting that many school districts have already taken the plunge.
   Ms. Waters, the school board president, said she felt torn. She said she wanted the board to reach a consensus, but urged the board members to “vote their conscience.” She said she was going to vote to move the election to November.