TRENTON, April 18, 2001—Budget approvals in today’s Annual School Election indicates continuation of New Jerseyans’ strong support for public schools and recognition of prudent fiscal practices by local boards, the executive director of the New Jersey School Boards Association said today.

Voters approved 81.1% of the 552 proposed school budgets on the ballot, down slightly from last year when they passed 88% of the proposals, the highest approval rate on record.

• Click here NJSBA's county-by-county breakdown of budget election results from 1991-2001 (updated April 23).
• Click here for the New Jersey Department of Education's district-by-district budget results (note that the state's results do not account for post-election changes due to recounts).

"In spite of a shifting economy, voters remained strongly supportive of their public schools," said Edwina M. Lee, NJSBA executive director. "They also recognized that school boards have been fiscally prudent in developing budgets."

Voter Turnout. Approximately 13.3% of the state’s registered voters participated in Tuesday’s election.

"Voter turnout in the school elections continues to be a disappointment," said Lee. "These are important elections with much at stake financially and educationally for our communities. However, low voter turnout can also indicate that there is no broad-based dissatisfaction with the school operations."

Lee noted that the school elections this year fell at a time when many school districts are on spring break and families are away.

Voters also approved 65.6% of 91 "second ballot questions", according to state education department figures. Last year, they approved 70% of these proposals, which request spending above a school district’s budget cap.

Board Members Elected. Voters on Tuesday also selected candidates in 556 districts with elected school boards.

"It’s interesting to note that roughly half—or 1,117 of the total 2,168 candidates—were incumbents seeking re-election and about half were fresh faces," said Lee. "Voters throughout the state were able to enjoy selecting from a balanced mix of both experienced public servants as well as the infusion of new people."