Schools

Council, BOE to Look at Election Date Change Next Week

Governor Christie signed legislation allowing school board elections to be moved

The  and  are both expected to discuss the prospect of moving school elections to the fall at meetings Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

According to legislation signed by Gov. Chris Christie this week, school board elections normally held in April could be moved to coincide with the general elections in November. Either a school board or municipality can vote to make the switch, or voters can petition the municipality for a referendum on the prospect.

The legislation also states that if a school district is able to keep its proposed budget under the state-mandated 2 percent hard cap it would not have to put it up for a vote by the general public. 

Find out what's happening in Howellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

School Board President Tim O'Brien said one of his major reservations with the legislation is the fact that residents would lose their right to vote. "That's something that the board has to consider seriously the next time it meets," he said. "I'm on the record that I support the right of people to vote on the budget."

Calling that elimination of the vote a "tough obstacle," to overcome, O'Brien said he would have to weigh the options available to the board before making any decisions. "I have to give it a great deal of thought," he said. 

Find out what's happening in Howellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Superintendent Enid Golden said she supports moving the election based on the financial benefits to the board and the township. She said the district spends between $25,000 and $30,000 on the April elections. That amount could increase if more districts decide to move their elections and Howell stays where they are. "This is money that would be better spent on students," she said. 

Golden also said the move to November could also increase voter turnout, especially during a presidential election year. 

The Board of Education will meet on Wednesday night at Middle School North, but before then the council will meet on Tuesday. Councilman Rob Nicastro said he believed the vote would be a discussion item on their agenda.

Saying he "supports the governor's legislation," Nicastro added, "There are some details that we still need to receive." 

The councilman said the two boards will decide what they believe is in the best interest of the township. "We'll see what the school board decides to do, if anything and then once we have all the information from the legislation, if the governing body needs to make a decision they'll make a decision."

According to an informal by Howell Patch, of the 53 votes cast 29 were in favor of moving the election to November. Nineteen voters said they feel the budget should be voted on separately. 

The preliminary agenda for the council meeting can be found here. The information for the discussion of the move of the elections is here


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