Voorhees voters will have a lot to chew over today, Wednesday, April 27 for the annual school board elections. Residents will be asked to decide the fate of the budgets for both the Voorhees Township Public School K-8 District and Eastern Regional High School District, plus several candidates for the K-8 board of education.
Polls for both districts are open from 2 to 9 p.m.
The K-8 district approved a $49.3 million budget in March. If passed, the budget will raise the average assessed homeowner’s school tax bill by $123 in 2011–2012. An average assessed home in Voorhees is valued at $335,930. The total school tax levy for next year is about $41.7 million.
The local school tax rate will increase by about 3.6-cents per every $100 of assessed property value if the budget is passed.
To meet the 2 percent cap, the budget was decreased by almost $2 million from 2010–2011. To reduce the budget the district is planning to cut three certified teachers, two administrative positions, eight resource assistants, a secretary position, and a business office position.
Also, four candidates are running for three open, three-year seats on the K-8 BOE. Incumbents Richard Wojdon, Bruce Karpf, and Richard Nelson will try to defend their seats against candidate Matthew Dortch.
Voters will also look at the Voorhees portion of the Eastern Regional High School District’s budget. Including debt service and special revenues, the total 2011–2012 budget is about $34.4 million.
The budget includes a 1.9-cent increase to the tax rate for Voorhees residents, which translates to an average annual increase of $62 for a homeowner with an average assessed home of $335,930.
The Voorhees representatives on the Eastern Regional High School District BOE are running unopposed for their expiring seats. Barring a write-in miracle, Robert A. Paul and Elena M. Chow will retain their seats on the BOE.
Please visit www.eastern.k12.nj.us and www.voorhees.k12.nj.us for a complete list of polling places.
