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Star Ledger - Rhetoric less heated in N.J. school elections this year, experts say....."When a budget is cut, you live with those cuts for subsequent years," Saiff (Highland Park School Board President) said. "When you cut off an appendage, it’s not growing back. It’s gone and you learn to live without it." The growing costs of charter schools have become an increasingly visible issue in Highland Park, Saiff said.....Charter schools are becoming a hot issue in a growing number of communities and in elections across the state, said Lynne Strickland, executive director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools. "The more charter schools expand, the more people become concerned about them," said Strickland, who represents about 100 districts in mostly suburban communities. "Charter schools cost local taxpayers money, and it’s one budget item they have no say over."
Associated Press-The Record - NJ school elections less fiery a year after revolt
Courier Post - School votes bring anxiety to South Jersey
MyCentralJersey.com - School boards due for significant turnover
Star Ledger - Rhetoric less heated in N.J. school elections this year, experts say Published: Saturday, April 23, 2011, 6:49 PM Updated: Sunday, April 24, 2011, 8:13 AM By Jessica Calefati/The Star-Ledger The Star-Ledger The results could be a lot different this year, as voters head to the polls Wednesday to cast ballots on 538 spending plans, education experts and school officials said. "Last year was all about sound bites — ‘Turn down the budget. Send a message’ — and this year it’s about reality," Assembly Education Committee chairman Patrick Diegnan (D-Middlesex) said. "Local school boards are faced with the insurmountable challenge of doing great things with fewer resources, and residents are starting to understand that." The economy is still problematic, but it’s not as suffocating as last year, said Frank Belluscio, spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association. Most districts have proposed austere budgets, with price tags falling at or below the 2 percent property tax cap championed by Christie and signed into law last year. Statewide, 11 districts will present voters with "second questions" on additional spending projects whose combined cost tops $3.3 million. Another 14 municipalities will, for the first time, ask voters to approve non-school spending ventures that exceed the new tax cap. Proposed budgets in more than 60 municipalities exceed the 2 percent tax cap because the school districts have included expenses, such as health insurance, that fall outside the limit. "It’s a calmer year," Belluscio said. "I think it gives the community a greater opportunity to focus on education goals and how to fulfill those goals." Last year, voters approved just 41 percent of the proposed budgets — the lowest number since 1976 and a 30-point drop from 2009, when 73 percent of budgets passed. Voter turnout also spiked last year. "We will certainly be above (last year’s) mark, but how much higher the approval rate will be is hard to determine because the economy remains a factor," Belluscio said. Locked in a fiery debate with the New Jersey Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, Christie last year called upon taxpayers to reject budgets in districts where teachers had refused to accept a pay freeze. This year, the governor has been mum on school budgets. Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts said the governor still supports "shared sacrifice." "New Jersey is still dealing with fiscal challenges, which is why we continue to support any efforts by districts, local employees and their leadership to responsibly and efficiently manage district budgets," Roberts said. "And that is what voters expect as well as they consider them for approval." School boards are often asked to do the impossible — offer more services without raising taxes. A poll released last week by Quinnipiac University showed 59 percent of voters would rather cut services than raise taxes, while 71 percent oppose cuts in state aid to public schools. The Hopatcong School District faces this dilemma every year, Superintendent Charles Maranzano said. Taxpayers in the Sussex County borough have approved the local school budget just three times in the past 20 years, most recently in 2004. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: "We have a long history of failed budgets," Maranzano said. "This is largely a bedroom community. There are no ratables in this town, and on top of that, a lot of people are out of work." Maranzano said he is "cautiously optimistic" this year’s budget will be approved, but he understands voters’ frustration. "Who could blame the taxpayers? We are all taxpayers," Maranzano said. "But once you reduce funding and resources for schools considerably, the quality becomes hard to maintain." Taxpayers vent their rage in school elections because they don’t get to vote on much else that directly affects their taxes, said Bruce Baker, an associate professor at Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Education. Voters can voice their opinions on school budgets, but not on municipal, state or federal budgets. "Budget approval historically has oscillated with public sentiment about the economy," Baker said. "1976 was the last time the economic indicators were roughly as bad as last year and as many budgets got voted down." Wendy Saiff, president of the Highland Park Board of Education, said deciding which programs and services end up on the chopping block during tough economic times is "horrible." "When a budget is cut, you live with those cuts for subsequent years," Saiff said. "When you cut off an appendage, it’s not growing back. It’s gone and you learn to live without it." The growing costs of charter schools have become an increasingly visible issue in Highland Park, Saiff said. This year, for example, the Middlesex County district sent $22,000 to two local charters that have enrolled former borough students. Next year, the board expects that number to jump to $300,000, she said. "That’s another cost we will have to deal with and another drain on the budget," said Saiff, who opposes a plan to open a third charter school in town. Charter schools are becoming a hot issue in a growing number of communities and in elections across the state, said Lynne Strickland, executive director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools. "The more charter schools expand, the more people become concerned about them," said Strickland, who represents about 100 districts in mostly suburban communities. "Charter schools cost local taxpayers money, and it’s one budget item they have no say over." Associate Press-The Record - NJ school elections less fiery a year after revolt Saturday, April 23, 2011 The Record THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HADDONFIELD — A year after a taxpayer revolt at the polls, New Jersey's school budget elections are back on Wednesday — with some major differences. Proposed budget increases are more modest, largely because of a state law mandating that they be; Gov. Chris Christie isn't actively campaigning against budgets this time; and the election is being held on a Wednesday, an unfamiliar day for voting. New Jersey is the only state where voters in most school districts get to vote up or down the entire school tax levy every year — a relatively rare opportunity for citizens to have a direct say on how much they're taxed. That sounds like a big chance for weary taxpayers to speak up in a state with by far the nation's highest average property tax bill of more than $7,300, the bulk of it to support schools. But usually, the results are predictable: Turnout in the elections — where school board members are also elected — is tiny, usually well under 20 percent of registered voters. And a large majority of the proposed budgets are adopted in a state where scores on comparable standardized tests consistently rank among the nation's best. Last year, it was reversed. Christie, a Republican whose war of words with teachers unions is a hallmark of his governorship, campaigned against budgets last year. He said voters should reject proposals in districts where teachers didn't agree to pay freezes and increases in their health insurance payments. It was only fair, he said, that they sacrifice. Facing shrinking tax revenue and less federal education aid, his administration slashed subsidies to local school districts, leading to widespread layoffs and program cuts. Even the proposed budgets in many districts last year called for some cuts, and they ended up being deeper when voters rejected them (rejected budgets are sent to municipal governments to cut). Voters heeded the governor's call and the situation by turning out — and voting "no" — in unusually high numbers. Nearly 27 percent of registered voters participated in the election — twice the percentage as the previous year. And they rejected nearly 60 percent of the budgets, the most since at least 1976. But this year's circumstances are different. Christie is proposing $250 million more in aid to be spread around to the state's schools, which takes some of the burden off the property taxes to fund schools. The money has also meant districts could avoid further cuts they were bracing for. The class trip for eighth graders in Gloucester City, for instance, could be spared. And in the Chathams, the fee for extracurricular activities imposed a year ago is slated to be reduced. It's also the first year of a law capping tax levy increases in most cases at 2 percent. That's down from a 4 percent limit last year. The state Education Department says only 9 of the 538 districts with budget elections have additional ballot questions for spending, including some items that would push the districts over their 2 percent caps. "They're really striving to keep it low," said Frank Belluscio, a spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association. "They understand what's going on out there with the economy. There's been a real effort to keep it under 2 percent." A Rutgers Eagleton poll conducted in late March and early April found voters hadn't given much thought to how they'll vote in the elections. Thirty percent said they'd vote yes, 16 percent no and 15 percent said they wouldn't bother to vote. The biggest group — about two in five — said they didn't know how they'd vote. A year ago, there was a major push against the budget proposals. Christie wrote a newspaper editorial telling voters to reject any plan that didn't include "shared sacrifice," and educators in only about 20 districts agreed to the concessions he was pushing. Also, Christie's sparring with the New Jersey Education Association was making headlines practically daily in the run-up to voting. This time, he isn't campaigning against budget plans. NJEA spokesman Steve Wollmer said Christie was wrong to link layoffs, program cuts and increased student fees for extracurricular activities with teachers' refusals to accept contract concessions. The real problem, he said, was the cut in state aid. "Last year, he obviously had an impact on both the turnout and the results," said Steve Wollmer, a spokesman for the NJEA. "He ran a misinformation campaign. People fell for it." This year, no major opposition to budgets has surfaced. The major campaign is just to remind voters when the election is. It's usually held on the third Tuesday in April. But former Education Commissioner Bret Schundler moved it to April 27 this year — the fourth Wednesday — to avoid conflicting with Passover.
Frustrated over increases in school spending and property taxes during a down economy, New Jersey voters, at the urging of Gov. Chris Christie, rejected their local school budgets in record numbers last year.
• N.J. voters reject school budgets in heated elections
Courier Post - School votes bring
anxiety to South Jersey
Written by
BARBARA S. ROTHSCHILD Courier-Post Staff 5:31 AM, Apr. 25, 2011|
The mood surrounding New Jersey's 2011
school elections -- held on a rare
Wednesday this week -- is more subdued
than it was leading up to last year's
elections.
Does that bode well for school districts?
The answer is a definite "maybe."
"After holding meetings about the budget
and talking with people, I believe that
parents, teachers and other community
members feel good about the budget this
year," Cherry Hill school board President
Seth Klukoff said about a spending plan
that gives $500,000 back to voters in tax
relief.
Last April, 69 percent of budgets failed
after Gov. Chris Christie went to war with
the New Jersey Education Association and
encouraged voters to reject spending plans
in districts where teachers did not agree to
pay freezes.
But last year, voters rejected budgets even
in districts where teachers did agree to pay
freezes, suggesting it was more the specter
of rising taxes and the bad economy in
general that led to the largest percentage
of budget defeats since 1976.
After Christie cut state aid to most districts
midway through the year for 2008-09 and
followed up with more cuts for 2009-10,
most districts last year presented voters
with greater tax hikes than usual. In some
cases, they exceeded the then-4 percent
tax levy cap.
This year, it seems like voter approval has
nowhere to go but up -- even though,
because of declining ratables, taxes also
may go up even where the levy is
decreasing.
In Cherry Hill, where the proposed levy is
$3.4 million below the state-mandated cap
-- lowered to 2 percent this year -- the
value of taxable property in the township
has declined by nearly $60 million over the
past year.
So, despite the $500,000 giveback
prompted by a $1.72 million state aid
increase, the owner of a home valued at
the $140,000 township average would pay
$106.68 additional in school tax for the
calendar year.
That amounts to an increase of 3.2 cents in
the tax rate, for a total $4,654.83 in
school taxes.
Other districts also hope that coming in
under the tax levy cap brings budget
success.
Some districts are using federal Education
Jobs Act money or funds from dwindling
surpluses to lower tax hikes -- risky moves
because the EJA money won't be there next
year. And with depleted surpluses and
continuing uncertainty over state aid and
the economy, even larger tax increases
could be in store in 2012-13.
But in another move likely to resonate with
taxpayers, districts have adjusted to what
Christie has called "the new normal,"
finding they can actually do more with less
without sacrificing quality inside the
classroom.
In Mount Laurel, where the budget suffered
a rare defeat last year, the proposed
$65.78 million operating budget is
$230,605 less than this year's budget and
$199,230 below the state-mandated 2
percent cap on spending.
It spares layoffs but reduces staff by 16
positions through retirements and
enrollment decreases; increases cost-
saving cooperative purchases; and includes
plans for increased revenue through solar
energy, bus advertising and other
initiatives.
Still, with ratables down by more than $30
million in Mount Laurel, the owner of a
home assessed at the $142,200 township a
verage would pay $49.77 more in local
school taxes, or a total $2,305 for the
year. That's in addition to regional high
school taxes for Lenape, which would
remain stable at $1,532.72 for the
average Mount Laurel homeowner because
of the declining ratables.
Break in the fight
Districts also hope to benefit from a lull in
the battle between Christie and the NJEA.
While the governor has continued to spar
with the union, touting his plans to establish
a performance-based salary system in
place of tenure, districts have remained
supportive of teachers.
Although several teacher contracts are still
unsettled over salary and benefits -- as in
Moorestown -- others have reflected
compromise, as in Cherry Hill.
Maple Shade Superintendent Michael
Livengood hopes voters who defeated last
year's budget will look positively on this
year's plan, which retains all programs. But
there remains uncertainty over ongoing
union negotiations with teachers,
secretaries, administrators and other staff.
"We are trying to get concessions to close a
$212,000 shortfall in the budget and I am
optimistic we will be able to do that,"
Livengood said. The budget anticipates
$212,000 in concession cuts through
negotiation or privatization, if necessary.
Maple Shade's proposed $29.8 million
budget is within the 2 percent spending
cap limit, but taxes would still rise about
$82 a year on the average home assessed
at $205,000. Nearly 25 percent of the
increase, or $21.15, is due to an $11.4
million drop in the value of all taxable
property in the township.
Austerity all around
South Jersey's pattern of more austere
school budgets is holding true throughout
the state, New Jersey School Boards
Association spokesman Frank Belluscio
said.
"It is a calmer year," he said. "The vast
majority of districts are introducing
budgets that reflect tax levies of 2 percent
or less, and we're definitely in a downsizing
mode because of the economy."
Belluscio said the NJSBA is "cautiously
optimistic." But he was reluctant to
speculate on whether this year's turnout will
approach last year's record 26.7 percent
of registered voters or be more like
business as usual, with turnout at an
average 13 to 15 percent or less.
Nor could Belluscio guess whether turnout
would have a positive or negative effect.
"On the one hand, voters are usually much
less receptive (to passing budgets) when
the economy is down," he explained. "But,
these budgets are really austere.
"It comes down to local elections."
That observation runs true in South Jersey,
where turnout could be influenced by more
than the unusual Election Day. It was
changed from the third Tuesday of the
month to the fourth Wednesday to avoid
the first and last days of Passover.
While some voters may shirk the polls
because a Wednesday vote is not on their
customary radar, others may be away on
spring break. Some districts, including
Maple Shade and Voorhees, have their
spring vacations the week after Easter.
Other districts that usually have spring
break beginning Good Friday -- such as
Lenape Regional, Mount Laurel and
Medford Lakes -- moved vacation to the
week ending with Good Friday. That means
more voters, particularly those with school-
age children, may be around to vote on
Election Day Wednesday.
Decisions, decisions
Apart from the calendar, some residents
may stay away from the polls because they
are confounded or frustrated by a number
of decisions facing them in the voting
booth.
In five Burlington County districts --
Medford, Mount Holly, Mansfield,
Lumberton and Bordentown -- voters must
also decide whether to let their
municipalities raise the local purpose tax
over the 2 percent cap. A sixth, Mount
Laurel, had planned to do likewise but
withdrew its proposal.
In Riverside, voters will say yes or no to a
$750,000 construction bond referendum
to build new bleachers at the high school.
Two districts -- Springfield in Burlington
County and Kingsway Regional in
Gloucester County -- have second ballot
questions.
Springfield wants an additional $100,000
from voters for a new teacher so it can hold
full-day kindergarten. Kingsway Regional
seeks an additional $405,275 to re-
establish late buses, some after-school
activities, and freshman and middle school
sports.
Getting creative
While many districts have tried to dispel
confusion and answer all residents'
concerns through a series of public
meetings, some are attempting more
creative outreach this year.
In Bellmawr, where the proposed $7.73
million tax levy would raise school taxes by
$29.35 for the owner of a home valued at t
he $170,000 borough average, the
district declared its own Pride in Education
Week.
There was a spring dance at the middle
school to boost community spirit, followed
by evening open houses at all three schools
to bring in parents, highlight student
accomplishments and allow for brief
budget presentations.
Superintendent Annette Castiglione said the
prospect of getting a budget passed is
daunting -- the local district budget has
been defeated for 32 consecutive years by
Bellmawr residents, who also vote on the
Black Horse Pike Regional budget for high
school.
But Castiglione keeps hoping.
"Parents are very involved this year, and I
think they are informed," she insisted. "I s
ee lots of nods and smiles at
presentations, so I'd like to think the mood
is more positive than last year."
Like officials and board members in other
districts who have produced budgets they
consider cut to the bone, Castiglione
doesn't want to contemplate defeat.
If municipal governing bodies reduce
defeated tax levies, districts may be forced
to cut programs, raise fees or make other
unpopular changes. And the relative calm
of this year's election season could give
way to stormy confrontations in front of
newly reorganized school boards.
The NJSBA has reported that interest in
school board candidacy is up this year,
with 2,222 candidates running for 1,619
available seats in Wednesday's election.
There are 150 candidates running to fill
119 seats in Burlington County, 137
candidates vying for 77 seats in Camden
County and 120 prospects to fill 88 seats
in Gloucester County.
Of those running, 91 in Burlington County,
or 61 percent, are incumbents. So are 77
in Camden County, or 56 percent of the
candidates, and 54 in Gloucester County,
or 45 percent.
While 60 percent of last year's school
board candidates statewide were
incumbents, that number is down to 49
percent this year. Burlington and
Gloucester counties are bucking the trend,
indicating more incumbents want to finish
what they started with a move toward that
"new normal."
But the difficulties of the past year also are
attracting newcomers who don't cringe at
the thought of facing angry residents if
failed budgets lead to unpopular cuts or
more activity fees.
"More people have become interested
because they feel they can make a
contribution," Belluscio said.
Staff writer Carol Comegno contributed to
this report. Reach Barbara S. Rothschild at
(856) 486-2416 or barothschild@camden.
gannett.com
MyCentralJersey.com - School boards due for significant turnover
Written by MICHAEL SYMONS STATEHOUSE BUREAU 6:19 PM, Apr. 23, 2011|
TRENTON — For a preview of local school
elections, see pages A4 and 5 and
MyCentralJersey.com
Even before the first votes are cast in
Wednesday's school-board elections,
change is this year's winner.
The number of incumbents seeking re-
election has dipped to a recent low, while
the number of newcomers seeking to join
school boards has leaped to a recent high
— surging 40 percent from last year's
historically low number.
While it's unknown whether last year's
record turnout and tax-levy rejections will
be repeated, turnover on local boards of
education is certain to rise. The number of
incumbents seeking re-election is down by
166 statewide, and the number of
newcomers on the ballot is up by 333.
With more than 2,200 candidates on the
ballot, and more than 550 incumbents
stepping down, it's not really possible to
quantify whether two years of budget cuts,
tax caps and high-intensity policy debates
have had an impact on patterns in board
candidacies, said New Jersey School Boards
Association spokesman Mike Yaple.
"Clearly, there are more candidates running
for school board this year. And no one is
operating with the delusion that the job has
become easier over time," Yaple said.
Some school districts at the center of
controversies have high attrition rates. In
Toms River, where a longtime schools
superintendent was indicted last fall, all
three incumbents are leaving. In
Parsippany, the focal point of Gov. Chris
Christie battle to cap superintendents'
salaries, two of three incumbents aren't
running.
Yaple said people run for local school
board, a post that doesn't come with a
salary, for various reasons — anger over
property taxes, an experience their child
had in the school system, leadership in a
local parent-teacher organization.
"School board races tend to be intensely
local, and people often run for personal
reasons," Yaple said. "However, we usually
hear one main reason when school board
members step down from the position:
Time."
A survey performed last year by the
National School Boards Association found
the average board member spends about
25 hours a month on board business.
Substantial numbers report spending 20 or
more hours per week.
Also Wednesday, voters in 538 districts can
decide on property tax levies. Only 11
districts are asking voters to exceed the
new tax levy cap, which is 2 percent,
excluding pension and health-care costs.
Until three years ago, when state law was
changed to require a 60 percent
supermajority to pass a second ballot
question, an average of nearly 90 extra
questions were being put before voters a
year. That supermajority rule has been
revoked; in its three years in effect, just
four of 50 questions passed.
Last year, regular budgets had problems
on their own. Nearly twice as many voters
as usual turned out and rejected nearly 59
percent of levies, the first time since 1976
that a majority of levies lost.
Last year, Christie was encouraging voters
to reject levies if local teachers' unions
didn't make salary concessions. This year,
Christie hasn't engaged in the school
election, but Senate President Stephen
Sweeney, D-Gloucester, foresees another
protest vote.
"People are still angry. They're still
struggling," Sweeney said. "I don't think
people really want to vote against the
school budgets as much as it's a decision
on "How can I stay in my house?' They're at
that point. The economy is getting a little
bit better, but not that I think we see a
whole shift. Hopefully it's not a tidal wave."
