HILLSBOROUGH: School board ends April public vote

By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
   Hillsborough’s school board opted Monday night, 6-2, to drop the traditional April election for members and the school tax levy.
   Last year, state government gave school boards the option to drop the vote. Most school boards changed, but Hillsborough kept the spring election.
   With Monday’s vote, it becomes the last municipality in Somerset County to move away from the April yes-or-no ballot on the amount of money raised by local taxes to support the school budget.
   The board now will draft a budget that can raise the tax levy by no more than 2 percent as judged by the state education department.
   The three members whose terms end this year — Thomas Kinst, Greg Gillette and Thuy Anh Le — will continue to serve until November. They could run in the Nov. 5 election for new terms, which would begin at the start of 2014.
   Board President Thomas Kinst and Vice President Judith Haas voted to keep the April vote. Dana Boguszewski, Deena Centofanti, Christopher Pulsifer, Lorraine Soisson, Mr. Gillette and Ms. Le voted for the change. Jen Haley was absent, mourning the death of her father.
   Members who went for the change cited the fact taxpayers don’t have a vote directly on any other budget (except the fire district) that comprises the total property tax rate, but rely on their elected representatives.
   Candidates for school board will be listed away from partisan offices on the fall ballot. Nominating petitions will be due in late summer on a date to be determined.
   November elections for school board candidates will be in effect for the next four years at least. The board can revote on April elections in four years.
   One audience member, Jennifer Dowd, saw the decision as an affront to democracy, local control and trusting the will of the people. Only 7 percent of the electorate cast ballots in April 2012 even after the board said the election would be a test on the public’s desire to keep that final ratification of the budget.
   Others, like Mr. Pulsifer, viewed the decision as in harmony with budget-making at most other levels of government in a representative democracy.
   If people disagree with the budget, their recourse would be to vote against members at the next election, Mr. Pulsifer said.
   Mr. Gillette said he thought he might opt to retain the public vote as little as 12 days ago. While his heart told him one thing, the facts said to go the other way, he said.
   Ms. Centofanti said people do have a say on the budget. A segment of the twice-a-month meetings is set aside for comments, she said.
   Mr. Kinst said the lack of a vote does make it easier on the board and administration. While the public could vote against members to express dissatisfaction, up to one-third of the board that assembles a budget could choose not to return to defend that action, he said.
   He said his core values told him state and federal levels are “out of control,” and accountability on the local level was the most important factor.
   In the end, “I trust the voters,” he said.
   Others recalled the defeat of the 2009-10 budget and dealing with a state aid loss and a million-dollar reduction by the Township Committee following a defeat at the polls. Ms. Le said it took years to come back from that year’s loss of 66 employees, larger class sizes and reinstituting world language in elementary grades.
   Ms. Haas said even if the vote only turned out to be a referendum on school board performance, it did serve to hold the board’s feet to the fire, she said.
   In the fall, there always will be races that are more exciting and better funded than the school board, she said. In April, the school had a time when everyone was focused on the schools, she said.
   At the end of the meeting, teacher union leader Barbara Parker said the vote would free the superintendent from coffee-clatching handfuls of people in homes instead of running the district.
   ”In public comment before the vote, Ms. Dowd called the action a historic shift in the relationship of citizens, the board and school financing. She asked the board to put off the vote for more discussion and data.
   She said the loss of the election would disenfranchise votes of its check on school boards and was a precursor too the state taking control of budgets from local school boards.