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

School Election Awareness Project Taps Social Media

TRENTON, March 21, 2011 —The New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) has launched a statewide effort that incorporates social media and video technology to make voters aware of the Annual School Election on Wednesday, April 27.

The project is using services such as Facebook and Twitter and a special website, www.voteapril27.com, to encourage citizen participation in the election. It has the support of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, the New Jersey PTA, the Citizens’ Campaign, the New Jersey Education Foundation Partnership, and several other organizations.

“This effort will enable us to provide information to an expanded group of citizens and to send them alerts that remind them to vote on April 27,” said Raymond R. Wiss, school boards association president. On April 27, voters in more than 90 percent of the state’s communities will act on a combined total of more than $13 billion in proposed locally funded school expenditures. They will also select men and women to serve in more than 1,500 local school board positions.

The Vote April 27 project’s use of social media, as well as video clips of community events, will focus voter awareness at the local level, according to NJSBA.

“Even though the statewide numbers are impressive, the true significance of the Annual School Election takes place at the local level—in your community,” Wiss explained in a message to voters. “You will be able to vote on your school district’s individual budget proposal, an opportunity available to citizens in only a handful of states. You will also choose the men and women who will represent you on your school district’s board of education.”

The local board of education sets the policies under which the local school district operates and addresses areas such as curriculum, student conduct and discipline, and personnel procedures, according to NJSBA. The school board also hires and evaluates the chief school administrator and negotiates with the employee unions.

New Jersey citizens are urged to use into the following “Vote April 27” resources for information about the election:

• Website: www.voteapril27.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/voteapril27
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/voteapril27
• NJSBA Voter Resources: www.njsba.org/elections

To participate in the April 27 Annual School Election, a citizen must be registered to vote in his or her municipality. Those not currently registered must do so by April 6 to vote in this year’s school election.

The New Jersey School Boards Association is a federation of 588 local boards of education and includes 44 charter school associate members. NJSBA advocates the interests of school districts, trains local school board members, and provides resources for the advancement of public education.