show Manalapan-Englishtown K-8
school plan passing
Unofficial results
show Manalapan-Englishtown K-8
school plan passing
By dave benjamin
Staff Writer
Residents in the K-8 Man-alapan-Englishtown Regional School District have been holding their breath regarding the outcome of the district’s 2003-04 budget, and it appears that those who supported the budget’s passage can exhale.
The April 15 vote was not scheduled to be certified by Monmouth County until April 22, but the latest figures show the budget passing by five votes.
"Every vote counts, and that was the bottom line on this particular election," said Joseph F. Passiment Jr., the school district’s business administrator. "Every vote was significant."
While there were no provisional votes cast in Englishtown, eight provisional votes cast in Manalapan appear to have turned what was thought to be a rejection of the Board of Education’s 2003-04 budget to an approval, passing the budget by five votes.
"There were eight provisional votes cast, and all eight were for the budget," Passiment said. "I guess provisional votes do happen all the time."
The business administrator noted that provisional votes occur when someone has moved within a community and has not registered at their new polling location.
"But they are allowed to vote," he said. "Obviously, eight people were very insistent on making sure that their vote was going to count. Every vote counts, and this was one of those elections where it did really make a difference."
At first count on April 15, the returns appeared to defeat the budget, with Englishtown reporting 31 yes votes and 90 no votes and Manalapan reporting 999 yes votes and 944 no votes. Those figures, added together, showed the budget failing by a count of 1,034 to 1,030, but they did not include absentee ballots or provisional votes.
As of 4 p.m. Thursday, with all votes—including absentee ballots from Englishtown and Manalapan and the provisional votes from Manalapan—counted, the unofficial count showed Englishtown with a total of 32 yes votes and 93 no votes, while Manalapan voters recorded 1,044 yes votes and 978 no votes, turning the total figures to 1,076 yes votes and 1,071 no votes and passing the budget.
The budget for the 2003-04 school year totals $59,230,464.
The tax levy to support the budget will be $37.3 million in Manalapan and $1.5 million in Englishtown.
According to information provided by the board, the K-8 school tax rate in Manalapan will rise from $1.469 to $1.534 per $100 of assessed valuation. That is an increase of 6.5 cents.
That means the owner of a home assessed at $150,000 would pay $2,301 in K-8 school taxes in the coming year, up from $2,203 in the current year. The owner of a home assessed at $200,000 would pay $3,068 in K-8 school taxes in the coming year, up from $2,938 in the current year. The owner of a home assessed at $300,000 would pay $4,602 in K-8 school taxes in the coming year, up from $4,407 in the current year.
In Englishtown, the budget proposed raising the K-8 tax rate from $1.427 to $1.614 per $100 of assessed valuation. That is an increase of 18.7 cents.
That means the owner of a home assessed at $100,000 would pay $1,614 in K-8 school taxes in the coming year, up from $1,427 in the current year. The owner of a home assessed at $150,000 would pay $2,421 in K-8 school taxes in the coming year, up from $2,140 in the current year. The owner of a home assessed at $200,000 would pay $3,228 in K-8 school taxes in the coming year, up from $2,854 in the current year.
Manalapan-Englishtown school taxes are one portion of a property owner’s tax bill. Other taxes include municipal government taxes, Freehold Regional High School District taxes and Monmouth County taxes, among others.
In the vote for a school board member from Englishtown, voters returned Lori Semel to the board with 83 votes. She ran unopposed for the three-year seat.
"I’m very happy to be re-elected, [but] I’m really disappointed that only 125 people voted," Semel said.
Two three-year board seats were available in Manalapan. Incumbent James Mumolie was the only Manalapan resident to file a petition to run. He was re-elected with 1,334 votes.
Michael Corvino, a board member who chose not to seek re-election, received 39 write-in votes and said he would accept the result and retain his seat on the board.
"Looking at the percentage of the people that came out to vote, it was disappointing based upon the effort that went on to get people to come out to vote," said Mumolie. "We thank the people who did come out to vote, whether they voted for the budget or not. Thank you for exercising your constitutional rights."
Mumolie said there appears to be a concern, on behalf of some people, as to their involvement in the community as it relates to the educational environment that is presented.
"Again, just like last year, we will do our best to work with the township to present a complete academic, educational environment that is in the best interest of all the children," he said.
Corvino received 39 votes, the most of 19 write-in candidates. He said at first he was thinking of retiring from his board position and did not expect to run again due to work and other constraints. Subsequently, he found that there were no other candidates running for the second available Manalapan term.
"This was very fulfilling," Corvino said, referring to his previous experience on the board. "The kids in this community are what I live and die for between the board, coaching and my own children."
Because of the referendums for planned additions to the Manalapan Englishtown Middle School and the Clark Mills School and his role on the teacher negotiations committee, Corvino said he was asked by some people if he would consider running as a write-in candidate.
After hearing the news that he received the most write-in votes, Corvino said, "I feel honored. My answer is yes. I plan is to continue on and be part of the process."
Corvino, Mumolie and Semel will be sworn in to their seats at the board’s April 29 reorganization meeting.