BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer
TINTON FALLS — Voters going to the polls in Tinton Falls on April 18 were asked to vote for candidates for their local school district and for the regional high school district which includes Eatontown and Shrewsbury Township, as well as for two budgets: the K-8 school district and the regional high school district.
The Tinton Falls K-8 school district reorganized on April 24 when the three incumbents were sworn in for additional three-year terms.
Unfortunately, voting on the elementary school district’s budget resulted in a tie, so there had to be a recount.
“Right now, it is in front of a judge. We should get the results tomorrow,” said Superintendent Len Kelpsh on Monday.
He added this is the first time the budget has been defeated in 13 years.
“It had a lot to do with timing. Less than 9 percent of the people voted. That’s a very low percentage of residents,” he said, adding that schools were closed and residents with children may have been on vacation.
According to Tamar R. Sydney-Gens, business administrator/board secretary, 506 Tinton Falls residents voted to approve the budget and 467 voted not to approve. But in Shrewsbury Township, the yes votes were 19, and the no votes were 58.
“It tied at 525 votes for each. We had a recount, but it is in front of a judge for review,” she said Monday.
She explained that under the law, “a tie is a defeat.”
Residents were voting on a tax levy of $16,576,450 to support the 2006-2007 budget of $26,101,600, which would have meant a decrease in taxes for Tinton Falls residents and an increase for Shrewsbury Township residents.
According to Sydney-Gens, Tinton Falls residents would see a tax decrease of one-tenth of one cent per $100 of assessed valuation and Shrewsbury Township residents, who send approximately 200 students to the K-8 schools, would see an 11.4-cent increase.
Sydney-Gens said 12 percent of Shrewsbury’s registered voters actually voted, which is typical for the small municipality. But in Tinton Falls, between 12 to 20 percent usually vote in school board elections, so less than 9 percent is quite low.
Now both the Tinton Falls and Shrewsbury Township councils have to work with the K-8 school district to come up with an agreement by May 19.
The Tinton Falls Borough Council has to work with the Eatontown and Shrewsbury Township Boards of Education to look for cuts in the Monmouth Regional High School budget, which was also defeated.
Tinton Falls council members were scheduled to discuss both budgets at the workshop meeting on Tuesday night.
Councilman Brendan Tobin said on Monday, “We first have to hear what’s been decided by the administrations of both school boards on their attempts to resolve both budgets failing. Once they tell us that, we’ll know what we have to do next.”
Monmouth Regional’s $26.1 million spending plan, which included a tax levy of $17,844,074 was soundly defeated so no recount is necessary.
Monmouth Regional’s Interim Business Administrator Roseann Lozinski said when the budget was presented that the recent re-assessment of properties in Eatontown, as well as the change in the proportionate shares, leaves Eatontown high school taxes virtually unchanged. The anticipated tax per $100 of assessed property value will mean an increase of less than one cent in Tinton Falls and a decrease of 15 cents in Shrewsbury Township.
So why was the budget defeated? Lozinski agreed with the Tinton Falls administrator. She said that people who generally support the budget were on vacation.
She explained that 7.85 percent of Eatontown voters turned out to vote; 8.48 percent of Tinton Falls voters and 12.16 percent of Shrewsbury Township voters.
She added that counting absentee votes, Eatontown votes totaled 215 for the budget and 371 against. The Tinton Falls vote was closer with 477 yes votes and 493 no votes.
Shrewsbury Township votes totaled 29 yes and 48 no votes.
Lozinski said there was a grand total of 721 votes for the budget and 912 against with an overall total of 1,633 votes cast.
She added that the school district has already been in discussions with the municipalities.
There was no contest for seats on the Monmouth Regional School District’s Board of Education, nor was there a contest in the Tinton Falls K-8 school district.
The three candidates who ran for re-election to the Tinton Falls school district were incumbents Michael P. Laffey, Joseph DeFino and Michele Slazyk.
There were three, three-year seats available on the Monmouth Regional Board of Education, but only one, Jonathan Cohen, represents Tinton Falls. He won and will be sworn in at the reorganization meeting on May 2.