Press Release from Oakland K-8 School Board
“The Board of Education believed that they should not have the authority to decide whether its citizens can vote on the school budget. Nor did the Board believe that they should bestow upon themselves the benefit of an extension of their terms.
With those beliefs guiding them, Board trustees unanimously voted that the citizens of Oakland should decide these important questions. Thus, the Board decided that this year’s elections would continue to be held in April, while the Board facilitates a petition of citizens to place the question of a date change on the November ballot. For the question to appear on the ballot, the new law requires a petition of 15% of those citizens that voted in the last Presidential election. If voters decide to move the election and forego their right to vote, next year’s election will be held in November. Additionally, by having the citizens vote on this issue, a decision on whether the Board Members’ terms of office should be extended will be made by the voters. The Board stated that petitions would be available for signature in each of the schools, the Board Office, the Borough Hall, the Public Library, and the Senior Center. ”
(*Note – Petition will be released sometime in April; details on where to sign will be forthcoming )
Read the entire press release.
See entire list of 71 NJ school districts staying with April elections
NJSpotLight.com article on NJ districts staying in April
Post Originally Published February 17th
There has been a swift and steady tide of school boards across the state taking up the NJ Legislature and Governor Chris Christie’s offer to move the school board elections to November.
Locally, this includes the Ramapo Indian Hills district, Franklin Lakes K-8, Wyckoff K-8, but Oakland K-8 voted to stay with the spring elections for now and seek a referendum on the issue in November.
The next four years will tell if moving the April school board elections to November is the right move. If it does not work, then districts can switch back to the spring elections.
One major criticism to the law is that it prevents voters from directly casting a ballot in favor or against the annual school budget. A vote concerning the budget will only occur if the board fails to stay within a 2% cap on increases.
Supporters of the move point to the savings in not having an additional election in the spring and all the accompanying costs involved in that; and, point to the potential that more voters will actually take an interest in the candidates for school board. School board candidates will continue to run in a non-partisan manner, and their names on the ballot will not be aligned with any political party.
The tradition of communities voting on a school budget in New Jersey is one that many voters feel strongly about, but in reality many voters don’t act on. Also, the lack of interest and voter turnout for the spring election allows for a small group to dominate the outcome in the sparsely attended election.
The actual vote on a school budget has limited influence, much like a non-binding resolution. When local residents vote down a school budget, it kicks the budget to the local governing body – town council – to identify budget cuts. The town council has 30 days to consider a budget consisting of tens of millions of dollars, and when cuts are made they are usually minimal.
The town council is not even the final say on the school budget, as it must also be approved by the State of NJ who can determine what is ultimately approved.
The move of school board elections to November has additional benefits and pitfalls. The voter turnout will be significantly higher, and this will lead to the positions becoming more competitive. Voters will be seeking candidates with the courage to be both fiscally prudent and also protective of the integrity of the quality of education being provided.
As the vote on the annual budget will be eliminated should the budget not exceed the 2% cap, voters only recourse will be to vote out members who they view as fiscally irresponsible; with the same basis being used to vote out school board members who irresponsibly make decisions that will negatively impact the education students receive.
The move of school board elections to November may need to be accompanied by the same calls for transparency and campaign finance reform that have been the target of government elections. There are already investigations under way in NJ where teachers have been pressured to contribute and attend fundraisers to support specific candidates for school boards.
The influence of money in campaigns has been addressed on various levels of government, from the federal to the local level, but no measures can completely guarantee the integrity of the process. Transparency is only one factor in assuring the influence of money in elections, the other important factor is that voters care enough to take an interest.
Links of Interest:
West Milford Votes Against November Elections
Oklahoma Seeks November School Elections
The Case for November School Elections in Lakewood
Facts on how November School Elections Work
Why does the Board of Ed have to go through getting a petition to seek a referendum? Can’t the Mayor and Council just vote to put it on the ballot? If this is truly what the BOE members want they should just ask the M&C to put this on. It is hard to get almost 1100 people to sign a petition.