MANVILLE: With November election, school budget must be under 2% tax cap

School
– 8SCHOOL-
School budget must be under 2% cap
Manville residents will have until June 5 to file a petition to run for the Board of Education. The election will be held in November following the school board’s decision last week to move school elections from April to the general election in November for the next four years.
In January, state law was changed to give communities the option of moving the school elections from the third Tuesday in April to the November general election. The move also eliminates the annual vote on proposed school budgets that are at or below the state’s 2-percent tax levy cap.
"The Manville school board believes that the financial interest of our citizens remains safeguarded on multiple levels, even without a budget vote," said Heidi Alles, president of the board. "Proposed school budgets will still undergo a thorough review by the state Department of Education to ensure efficiency. Budgets are also controlled by the same 2-percent tax levy cap as are municipal and county budgets, which are not presented to voters. Any spending above the 2-percent cap must be presented to voters."
At this point in time, the Manville School district does not anticipate a need to exceed the cap; according to Ms. Alles, that was a key deciding factor.
"This board takes its financial responsibility very seriously, and I believe we have proven that over the past few years, which is why our budget vote passed in 2011. Our superintendent has made it common practice to find different ways of doing things as opposed to just spending. This has allowed us to control expenses while still providing our kids the best education possible."
The resolution approved by the board read, "The Manville Board of Education believes that more citizens will participate in the selection of its members at the general election than on the third Tuesday in April and that the higher level of participation will foster positive interest in our public schools."
Members of the board whose terms would have expired after the April election will continue to serve until the board’s organization meeting, which will be held the first week in January. Those board members are Ned Panfile, Cathy Wiedwald and Andrew Zangara.
School board races will remain non-partisan, and candidates’ names will appear on a separate section of the November ballot. The change in the school election date will remain in effect at least through November 2015, after which the community has the option of changing it back to April.
Although the board did discuss the possibility of an election move becoming political, Ms. Alles said the Board of Education was not overly concerned about it.
"I am sure this may be an issue in some cases, but for us, at this point in time, it was not a major consideration. The vast majority of people give up their time to serve on school boards because they care about our kids and want the best educational experience for them. We have a very serious and dedicated group of people serving on this board."
Candidates will submit a nominating petition (the document that places their name on the ballot) to the county clerk, not the local school board office.