The Cherry Hill Board of Education continues to mull over whether it will move the school election to November this year.
At the Jan. 24 meeting, James Devereaux, assistant superintendent, business and board secretary, provided the board with highlights on the new legislation Gov. Christie signed, that would allow school board elections to be moved to November.
The board took no formal vote as to whether it would move the election this year, in part because the board is hoping to garner more public input on the matter, said Susan Bastnagel, the district’s public information officer.
To move the school district election to November, either the board of education or town council would need to adopt a resolution — or voters would have to approve a ballot question in the next November election.
At the meeting, the board discussed the implications of the law, which would eliminate the need for residents to vote on the school budget if it remained under a state-mandated cap.
A budget that exceeds the 2 percent cap would be presented to November voters, allowing residents to approve or deny a budget with extra spending.
Board of Education President Seth Klukoff weighed the pros and cons of moving the election to November.
“By moving the election to November, it increases participation and engagement on issues critical to our school and voting is significantly higher in November. A con is there is a likelihood for politicization,” Klukoff said.
Klukoff said the board is also awaiting information as to what the ballot would look like should it merge with the November elections, and where exactly budget questions would appear on the ballot.
Since the legislation was announced, the board has learned a few more things about the implications of moving the election to November.
Should the move be made, the school election would not be able to be held in April again until at least four annual school elections have been held in November. And board members whose terms would have expired following the April election would have their terms extended to January.
Currently, the school district foots the bill for various election expenses, including $11,000 for postage on sample ballots, $1,000 to the Camden County Board of Freeholders, $14,000 in printing costs for samples ballots, $11,000 to the Camden County treasurer and $10,000 to election workers.
If the election were to move to November, these costs would be shared among various entitles, school district officials report.
The board may vote on a resolution to move the election to Nov. at the Feb. 14 meeting, Bastnagel said.
Residents and community members can still provide feedback on the issue by submitting comments on the district’s website, www.cherryhill.k12.nj.us.
