In my letter “Consider These Factors Before Voting to Change School Elections” in the WW-P News on January 4, I voiced my concern on switching school election to November.
Recently I have discussed this issue with dozens of people, including WW-P board president Hemant Marathe, members of the school board, district administrators, officials of West Windsor council and Plainsboro township committee, state legislators, and average citizens. They all agree that school election in November makes sense. It brings more voters and saves money for the district.
Hopewell and Princeton school districts are the two districts that chose school election in April in 2012 but switched to November in 2013. Both quoted cost savings and more voters participation. The Hopewell BOE president also mentioned that “voter presence at polling places in the schools could be viewed as a security risk, so there is an advantage to doing that once, rather than twice, a year.”
Based on my survey, the biggest benefit of school election in November is that it eliminates the requirement for school boards to put their proposed school budgets on the ballot, as long as the budget is within the 2-percent levy cap. Each year school administrators spend hundreds of hours preparing budget presentation and making seminars to explain the budget. If the school election is changed to November, all these hours can be saved and instead spent on improving education.
There is a view to justify this. Our tax has four components: federal, state, municipal, and school taxes. According to the prevailing view, the other three types of tax don’t get voted, so why should school tax get voted? It makes sense to move school elections to November for this purpose.
On the other hand, although the budget will not be up for a vote, the board would still be required to hold public hearings on the spending plan in the spring.
After comparing all the pros and cons, I think it’s time for WW-P to move the school election to November. Meanwhile, I will run for a seat on the board regardless of the election date this year.
Yu “Taylor” Zhong
Plainsboro
The writer is a candidate for WW-P BOE member, representing Plainsboro Township.
