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P.O. Box 909 ● Trenton, NJ 08605-0909 ● Phone: 609.695.7600 ● Fax: 609.695.0413 ● Web: www.njsba.org/PI |
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Voters to Decide School-Funding Questions on April 15
TRENTON, April 4, 2008—A
new law that requires an unprecedented 60-percent majority of voters to
approve additional school-funding questions, or “second ballot questions,”
appears to be having a chilling effect on the number of such questions put
before voters in this year’s Annual School Election, the New Jersey School
Boards Association reported today. In all, 28 school
districts are proposing 33 additional ballot questions in the April 15 school
election—the lowest number since the current system of second ballot questions
was established a dozen years ago. It is a sharp decrease from last year,
when 65 school districts proposed a total of 87 additional spending
questions. When a school
board proposes a second ballot question, it is asking voters to approve
expenditures above the permissible increase (state-imposed tax-levy cap) in
school property taxes reflected in the main budget question (or “base budget”
proposal). School boards may present voters with one or more additional
ballot questions, which must specify the program or positions to be funded. The 33 additional
questions on the April 15 ballot in 28 school districts represent a dramatic
downturn from the previous eight years, when an average of 70 school boards
proposed a total of 86 second ballot questions each year. Base budgets and
second questions During the Annual School Election, voters in 549
school districts will act on proposed base budgets covering school district
operating costs for 2008-2009. An April 2007 state law placed a 4-percent cap
on local school property tax levy increases in base budgets; The same law
requires a 60-percent supermajority of voters to approve school districts’
second ballot proposals to exceed that levy cap. “No other public
question in For 2008, many of
the second ballot questions address educational programs and services.
Other questions The Annual School
Election also serves as one of five dates during the year when school boards
can place construction proposals on the ballot. On April 15, voters in 15
districts will act on a total of $136 million in proposed school
construction. School districts
may also proposed organizational changes to voters during the Annual School
Election. Two districts will ask voters to change the number of members
on their local school board: Frenchtown in Rejected budget
and second-ballot questions If voters reject the base budget, the
proposal is sent to the municipal governing body for review. The municipality
may leave the budget intact, or make cuts. Current law provides a
process for a school board to appeal to the commissioner of education if a
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. However, if
voters reject a second ballot questions, the issue does not go to the
municipal governing body for review and there is no appeal; the voters’ word
is final. Unless there is a gift or outside funding, the specific program or
staffing in the second question is lost for the year and the school board
cannot transfer budget funds to sustain the program or service. Summary of Additional Ballot Finance Questions (“Second
Ballot Questions”) Voters in 28 school districts will act on 33 second ballot questions
asking for spending that would exceed to the state-imposed 4-percent cap on
the tax levy. (See list of districts at the end of this release.) Staffing:
Classroom teachers or aides: 8 questions
Counseling (guidance, social workers, etc.): 2 questions
Arts/music teachers: 2 questions
Security guards/school resource officers: 2 questions
Other staff (nurses, cafeteria staff, librarians, etc.): 6 questions Programs and services:
Instructional programs (enrichment programs, summer school, basic skills,
etc.): 4 questions
Athletic programs: 4 questions
Busing: 2 questions
Computers and technology equipment: 5 questions
Full-day kindergarten or pre-school: 5 questions
Extracurricular activities (clubs, after-school programs, etc.): 3 questions Facilities/equipment: Renovations (roofs, windows,
boilers, athletic fields, playgrounds): 8 questions
Security (includes cameras, fire safety equipment, etc.): 9 questions (Note: The numbers add up to more than the total number of questions,
33, because many second-ballot questions address more than one expenditure
area.) Source: April 15, 2008 BALLOT PROPOSALS
Number of
additional ballot questions, 1997-2008:
·
Other ballot proposals (not related to
school operating budget) o
Construction bond referendums: 15 districts o
Change in board composition: 2 districts to change the number
of members o
Recall: 1 district (Recall of a member of the Hardyston Board of
Education, New 28 districts with 33 questions Note: The list below only includes
districts where school boards proposed additional budget questions asking
voters to decide proposed expenditures above the state-imposed tax-levy cap on the base budget. The
list does not include bond referendums for construction projects or non-budget
questions such as asking voters to change the number of members on the school
board. Cresskill Hillsdale Ramsey River Vale Saddle Brook Westwood Regional Somerdale District of the Lacey Township Great Meadows Regional ********
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. ###
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