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NEWS RELEASE

CONTACT:        Frank Belluscio (fbelluscio@njsba.org)                                                     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                        Mike Yaple (myaple@njsba.org)
                        (609) 278-5202

Voters to Decide School-Funding Questions on April 17

• Voters in 549 school districts decide "base" budgets
• 65 districts have one or more additional finance questions
• 18 districts have bond referendums for construction projects
• 3 districts ask voters to decrease number of members on the school board

TRENTON, April 10, 2007 — Sixty-five school districts — many wanting to maintain existing programs and staff — are asking voters to approve additional school-funding questions in the April 17 Annual School Election, the New Jersey School Boards Association reported today.

The 65 school districts are proposing a total of 87 additional spending questions, typically called "second ballot questions." The second ballot questions ask voters to approve expenditures above the state-imposed tax-levy cap. The question must specify the program or positions to be funded.

Base budgets and second questions During the Annual School Election, voters in 549 school districts will decide whether to support proposed "base" budgets covering the school district's operating costs for 2007-2008.

The 87 additional questions on the ballots in 65 school districts represent an increase over last year, when 72 second ballot questions were proposed in 57 communities. Some notable items include:

• Thirty-one percent of this year's additional ballot questions state that the requested funding would retain existing staff or existing programs.
• Most of the questions, 65 of the 87, ask voters to approve funding for staff. Nineteen specify classroom teachers or aides; 11 ask for counselors or social workers; nine call for security guards or school resource officers; the remaining questions seek funding for other staff, ranging from custodians to principals.
• Security issues and childhood fitness seem to be a growing priority. A half dozen districts are asking for questions such as playground and gym equipment, and 12 school boards are seeking security upgrades such as cameras, identification systems and fire safety equipment.

Other questions In 553 of the state's local school districts, voters will select school board members on April 17. Statewide, 2,173 candidates are vying for 1,627 local board of education positions. In 549 communities, voters will act on proposed operating, or base, budgets.

The Annual School Election also serves as one of five dates when school boards can place construction proposals on the ballot. On April 17, voters in 18 districts will decide a total of $161.93 million in proposed school construction.

School districts may also proposed organizational changes to voters during the Annual School Election. Three districts will ask voters to decrease the number of members on their local school board: Pemberton Borough from seven to five members; Shiloh from nine to five; and Lincoln Park from nine to seven. The West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District is proposing a change in how it apportions costs between its two municipalities. The plan would change cost-apportionment from a system based on property valuation to one that uses each community's student enrollment.

Rejected budget and second-ballot questions If voters reject either the base budget or one of the 87 additional ballot finance questions, the proposal is sent to the municipal governing body for review. The municipality may leave the budget intact, or make cuts.

If the municipality's cuts to a defeated base budget would prevent the school district from providing an adequate education or if it would undermine the district's financial stability, the school board may be able to file an appeal with the commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education. However, any cuts that a municipality makes to a defeated second-ballot finance question are final, and the school board can not appeal to the state.

This year, a simple majority is still needed to pass any ballot question. Starting in 2008, however, school boards will need a supermajority of 60 percent of participating voters in order to pass an additional ballot question — and the voters' decision will be final, with no appeal to the municipality, according to Assembly Bill 1, signed into law last week by Gov. Jon Corzine.

[A summary of ballot questions follows.]

Annual School Election
April 17, 2007
SUMMARY OF BALLOT PROPOSALS

• Base budgets: 549 school districts
• Additional finance questions ("second ballot questions"): 87 questions in 65 districts

• Other ballot proposals (not related to school operating budget)
  
  
  • Construction bond referendums: 18 districts with 19 bond questions
  • Change in board composition: 3 districts to decrease the number of members
  • Change in apportionment: One district (West Windsor-Plainsboro)

Additional Ballot Finance Questions (“Second Ballot Questions”)

Voters in 65 school districts will act on 87 second ballot questions asking for spending that would exceed to the state-imposed 4-percent cap on the tax levy.

Number of questions specifically asking to maintain existing staff or programs: 27

Staffing:
            Classroom teachers or aides: 19 questions
            Counseling (guidance, social workers, etc.): 11 questions
            Arts/music teachers: 4 questions
            Security guards/school resource officers: 9 questions
            Other staff (nurses, custodians, librarians, etc.): 22 questions

Programs and services:
            Instructional programs (enrichment programs, summer school, basic skills, etc.): 5
            Athletic programs: 13 questions
            Busing: 8 questions
            Computers and technology equipment: 19 questions
            Full-day kindergarten or pre-school: 6 questions
            Extracurricular activities (clubs, after-school programs, etc.): 12 questions
            Textbooks/supplies: 7 questions

Renovations (roofs, windows, boilers, athletic fields, playgrounds): 19 questions (six of which are specifically for fitness equipment or playgrounds)
Security (includes cameras, fire safety equipment, etc.): 12 questions
           

(Note: The numbers add up to more than the total number of questions, 87, because many second-ballot questions address more than one expenditure area.)

Source: The New Jersey School Boards Association

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The New Jersey School Boards Association, a federation of district boards of education, advocates the interests of school districts, trains local school board members, and provides resources for the advancement of public education.