WEST WINDSOR-PLAINSBORO: School board moves election to November

By Charley Falkenburg, Staff Writer
   WEST WINDSOR – The West Windsor-Plainsboro School District joined the rest of Mercer County on Jan. 29 after the Board of Education unanimously voted to move its April school election to November.
   The switch makes the district the last in the county to make the four-year commitment that combines the school and government elections to the first Tuesday in November. In doing so, current board members will serve an additional six months and residents will not be able to vote on the school budget if it stays within the 2 percent cap.
   Voters will only be allowed to cast ballots for board candidates and any second questions should the proposed budget exceed the cap.
   The state gave districts and municipalities the option to combine elections starting last year to give them an opportunity to save money on polling costs and generate a higher voter turnout. However, West Windsor-Plainsboro, like many of the local districts, opted to hold off before rushing into something that still had too many unknowns.
   ”We wanted to wait and see the experiences of the other school districts,” explained Board President Hemant Marathe. “We didn’t find any bad experiences, so we thought now was a good time.”
   Last year, the board was also uneasy about taking away the community’s right to vote on the budget – another driving factor behind its delay. Although the school officials were willing to make that tradeoff this time around, board member Rachelle Feldman-Hurwitz wanted the public to know they were cognizant of creating a fiscally responsible budget that still allowed education to flourish.
   ”Larry Shanok (the finance and board secretary) works hard to preserve quality preserve the quality of our education and simultaneously save us money,” said Ms. Feldman-Hurwitz. “We do work hard to protect education and keep the costs down.”
   Although voters might not have the final say on the budget, that’s about all that’s different with the budget process. There will still be budget discussions at the next four board meeting, with each focusing on a diff part of the 2013-2014 budget. Like every year, the board will submit its preliminary budget to the county on March 7, review the proposed budget with the public on March 12 and hold a public hearing on March 27.
   Mr. Shanok thought it was ironic that they still had to prepare their budget so early when the election wasn’t for another six months. He also thought it was risky, especially with the rising increases in health and energy costs. He noted that unlike corporations, school districts don’t have the opportunity to offset fluctuations with lines of credit, bank loans or private equities.
   ”It’s rarely wise to make a move one year if you have to reverse it to the extreme in a subsequent year – it disrupts the progress you’ve made,” said Mr. Shanok. “It becomes particularly challenging to be fiscally responsible while trying to maintain your momentum and strengths.”
   School officials revealed the proposed 2013-2014 budget will take into account multiple expenditures such as new state requirements for teacher and administration evaluations, preparing for future contract negotiations, school safety measures and technology.
   The next budget discussion will take place at the Feb. 12 board meeting, which will target the major areas and expenditures. The meeting will start at 7:30 at the Community Middle School.