At West Windsor’s Council meeting on January 30, Councilwoman Linda Geevers (liaison to the school board) attempted to get a consensus of how her colleagues felt and what their plan of action would be in this situation.
“I personally don’t think we should give up the right to vote on the school budget. Once you give that right up it’s gone. I know they could bring it back in four years but four budget cycles would be done. Everybody should get out to that school board meeting,” Geevers said.
Business Administrator Robert Hary outlined the possibilities: “There are three ways this can go. First is that the school board, by their own resolution, agree to keep the public vote. Second, both Plainsboro and West Windsor townships can adopt a resolution requiring it, or the third would be for citizens to take the lead and approach the school board with some form of petition.”
Township Attorney Michael W. Herbert explained the reasoning behind the recent legislation. “The municipal budget is dealt with at the council level; it’s not voted on by the voters. The thinking was why not apply the same to the school budget. The governor’s office thought that the change for taxpayers should be if you don’t like the way the school budget is done, then vote out the board members,” Herbert said.
Herbert added that the governor’s office looked at how school budgets that are voted down (such as WW-P’s was last year) were only being minimally reduced by township councils.
Herbert said the governor’s office also thought of this move as a way to save on elections. Hary and Township Clerk Sharon Young commented on the cost of the school board election already being lower than that of municipal elections. Young said West Windsor’s November election cost $50,000 while Hary said the current school board April elections usually cost around $30,000.
