Voting machines are ready to be rolled out from the Monmouth County Board of Elections office in Freehold. JEFF GRANIT staff School board candidates join political office-seekers on ballot in most towns
F or the first time, voters who to go the polls in hundreds of towns in New Jersey on Nov. 6 will be asked to vote for local school board members in addition to casting a vote for president, members of Congress, county freeholders and municipal officials.
School board races were previously held in April, but a bill signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie in December 2011 gave school board members the option to keep their election in April or move it to the date of the general election in November.
According to Michael Yaple, public information officer for the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA), only 73 school districts, or 14 percent of the state’s 541 elected school boards, chose to keep the election in April. The remaining 86 percent, or 468 of the state’s 541 elected school boards, opted to move the election to November.
The bill had a big carrot in front of boards that considered making the move: If the budget put forth by the board for the following school year was at or below the school district’s tax levy cap, the budget would no longer be placed before voters, according to Yaple.
In the past, the public vote on the school budget was often a contentious time, as voters took the opportunity to have their say on property taxes on the only budget on which they had a vote.
Material provided by Yaple states that the NJSBA supported the legislation “because it placed the decision on moving the election date at the community level.”
Yaple said many school board members across New Jersey had concerns about moving the school board election to November.
“Traditionally, the April school election attracted approximately 15 percent of voters to the polls unless there was a local issue,” Yaple said.
He said school boards were given an incentive to move their election to the date of the general election.
“Voters were asked in the April election not to just vote for school board members, but also to vote on their local school budget as a yes or no question. If the budget was voted down, it would then go to the town’s governing body for review and possible cuts. The incentive is that if the community [school board] moved the school election to November, they would only vote for school board members as long as the budget is at or under the 2 percent tax levy cap,” he explained. “A lot of schools made the move [to November] to ensure a better sense of stability for their school budget and avoid cuts from their governing body.”
Yaple said there have been a number of concerns about moving the election, although he said they were “anecdotal.”
“But there has been a lot of debate about it,” he said.
One of the concerns, according to Yaple, is that the school board election in November could get lost in the political maze, especially in a presidential election year, which Yaple said, along with a vote for a governor, has the highest voter turnout.
He also referred to a concern about what he called “party politics,” which he said “could creep into school board races.”
“School boards are nonpartisan and not allowed to be partisan. It is too early to tell if political parties would be interested in school board races. Traditionally, they haven’t been a concern and we have seen nothing unusual yet, but it is so early and any information would only be anecdotal. It’s tough to tell right now,” he said.
Yaple said the NJSBA has seen a slight decrease in the number of school board candidates for each available seat.
He said in April 2011, 1.38 candidates were running for every open school board seat. In April 2012, that number increased to 1.44 candidates for every open seat. For the Nov. 6 election, the number has dropped to 1.25 candidates for every open seat.
“There seems to be a decrease in challengers,” he said.
He said that in April 2011, there were 1,612 open seat and 2,222 candidates.
For school districts that kept their 2012 election in April, there were 221 open seats and 318 candidates.
The Nov. 6 election is recorded as having 1,448 open seats with 1,813 candidates.
Yaple said when the law was passed there was an early deadline in place for residents to file to run for a board seat.
The school board candidates will be at the bottom of the ballot on the right, next to the box that lists the two public questions voters will be asked to vote on.
When asked if the NJSBA had received any complaints or concerns from school board candidates or school board members about media coverage for the 2012 school board races in the midst of a presidential election, Yaple said, “I think most people understand the media is doing the best job it can in a competitive environment. However, there are additional ways to learn about candidates these days: Often a local League of Women Voters group or a PTA may sponsor a meet the candidates night or a candidates’ debate, which are often broadcast on a local cable television access channel or online. Candidates can also use the Internet to disseminate information — an option that was not available to previous generations of school board candidates.”
State public questions
State Public Question No. 1
Building our future bond act
Do you approve the “Building Our Future Bond Act”? This bond act authorizes the State to issue bonds in the aggregate principal amount of $750 million to provide matching grants to New Jersey’s colleges and universities. Money from the grants will be used to build, equip and expand higher education facilities for the purpose of increasing academic capacity.
Interpretive statement:
Approval of this act will allow the State to issue bonds in the total principal amount of $750 million. Proceeds from the bonds will be used to provide grants to New Jersey’s public and private colleges and universities to
construct and equip higher education buildings to increase academic capacity. Bond proceeds will be allocated as follows:
$300 million for public research universities;
$247.5 million for State colleges and other State universities;
$150 million for county colleges; and
$52.5 million for private institutions with an endowment of $1 billion or less.
Public and private colleges and universities which receive grants will be required to provide funds to support 25% of a project.
State Public Question No. 2
Constitutional amendment allowing contributions to be taken from justices’ and judges’ salaries for their employee benefits.
Do you approve an amendment to the New Jersey Constitution, as agreed to by the Legislature, to allow contributions set by law to be taken from the salaries of Supreme Court Justices and Superior Court Judges for their employee benefits?
Interpretive statement:
This amendment clarifies the Legislature’s authority to pass laws requiring contributions be taken from the salaries of Supreme Court Justices and Superior Court Judges for their employee benefits. These benefits include their pension and health care coverage.
The amendment responds to a question raised in a 2011 lawsuit filed by a judge after the Legislature passed and the Governor signed into law P.L.2011, c.78. That law increased the contributions taken from current and future justices’ and judges’ salaries for their benefits, starting in October 2011. The lawsuit, which was appealed to the New Jersey Supreme Court, argued against taking the higher contributions from currently appointed justices and judges, citing language in the Constitution that their salaries cannot be reduced during their appointed terms.
The amendment clarifies that such contributions, set by law, may be taken from justices’ and judges’ salaries during their terms. It would also allow for the higher contributions set by P.L.2011, c.78 to be deducted from current and future justices’ and judges’ salaries.