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

2010 School Election Data

Voters in more than 90 percent of New Jersey’s communities will take part in the 2010 Annual School Election on Tuesday, April 20. On the ballot will be a total of more than 1,600 local board of education positions, 538 proposed annual school budgets, six second budget questions, and seven school-construction proposals.

The New Jersey School Boards Association provides the following information about the April 20 school election:

• Voters Reject Most School Budgets For the first time since 1976, New Jersey voters rejected a majority of proposed school budgets, as only 41.4 percent of the proposals received voter approval.



• School Budget Election Results, by County, 2000-2010 This chart provided by NJSBA shows the school budget-approval rate, by county, from 2000-2010.



• Voters Approve 4 of 7 School Construction Proposals Voters in the April 20 Annual School Election approved four of the school-construction proposals in seven New Jersey school districts for nearly $38.26 million in school construction.



• Annual School Election 2010: Fewer Districts Propose Second Ballot Questions – Additional ballot questions were once a fairly common tool for voters to decide funding programs that the state might not find necessary, but the community may feel is important. Such questions have become rare as school boards tighten their fiscal belts in a difficult economy.



• Facts and Figures about New Jersey’s Annual School Election – This backgrounder provides information on New Jersey’s school elections such as voter turnout, average length of service for school board members, and the statewide success rate of school budget elections since 1976.



• Voters to Decide Nearly $70 million in School Construction on April 20 – Besides electing school board members and deciding school budgets in the Annual School Election, voters in seven school districts will act on nearly $70 million in proposed school construction.



• School Board Candidacy Information – This chart provides the number of school board seats, candidates and incumbents seeking re-election in each county of the state.



• NJSBA’s Voter Resources Center – This resource page contains information on voter registration and vote-by-mail ballots, an NJSBA editorial, a Q&A written by NJSBA’s legal staff, and NJSBA’s annual Vote poster.

For additional information about the Annual School Election and issues facing New Jersey’s local boards of education, call Frank Belluscio or Mike Yaple at (609) 278-5202.

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.