P.O. Box 909 ● Trenton, NJ 08605-0909 ● Phone: 609.695.7600 ● Fax: 609.695.0413 ● Web: www.njsba.org/PI

NJSBA Launches Online Voter Resources Center

TRENTON, March 19, 2009—The New Jersey School Boards Association today announced the launch of an online Voter Information Center as part of its efforts to promote awareness of the state’s Annual School Election on April 21.

The Voter Information Center – located at www.njsba.org/elections – provides citizens with voter registration forms, absentee ballot information, and data about the election.

“By voting in the Annual School Election, you select your school board members and act on your school district’s proposed budget,” said NJSBA President Harry J. Delgado. “It’s a simple but powerful way to become involved in the education of your district’s schoolchildren and to strengthen your community.”

Now it’s easier than ever to vote, Delgado noted. A recent change in state law allows voters to cast their vote by mail though the use of an absentee ballot – without being required to provide a reason for not making it to the polls on Election Day.

The Voter Information Center includes:

• Voter registration forms (the deadline to register for the school election is March 31)
• Absentee ballot voting information
• Frequently asked questions about the school election, answered by NJSBA legal staff
• Important dates in the school budget and election process
• Articles and background resources from NJSBA and the Center for Public Education
• Extensive data on past school elections, ranging from number of candidates to voter approval rates of school budgets

In the Annual School Election, voters in more than 90 percent of New Jersey school districts select school board members and decide whether to approve their school district’s proposed operating budget for the year. Those proposed budgets must remain within state-mandated spending caps. School boards may submit a separate question to ask voters for additional funding beyond the state’s caps, but the vast majority of school districts submit spending plans that remain within state caps.

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.