School Board, you’re doing fine. The voters of West Windsor and Plainsboro sent that message via the school board election on Tuesday, April 17. The board will remain unchanged as the three incumbents retained their seats following the vote.##M:[more]##
Both Plainsboro and West Windsor passed the budget for the fifth straight year. This year that budget included $147,”155,”853 in spending, a 4.3 percent increase over last year. Additionally, both townships approved the referendum to change the method by which the taxes are apportioned between the two towns. As a result, starting with the 2009-’10 school year, the relative tax levy will be
determined by the number of pupils each town sends to the district, and not by the equalized valuation of property in each township.
In West Windsor, school board president Hemant Marathe and vice president Robert Johnson were re-elected. Ellen Walsh of Plainsboro ran unopposed, and will retain her seat. The nine-member board comprises five people from West Windsor and four from Plainsboro. Each has a three-year term.
Marathe led all candidates with 967 votes, or 35 percent. Johnson got 734 votes, or 27 percent. Michael Donnelly led the also-rans with 407 votes, 15 percent, followed by Jay Bryant with 318 votes, 12 percent, and Brett Boal with 310, or 11 percent.
For the current school board, perhaps the only disappointing part of the election was the turnout. In Plainsboro, 671 out of 9,”677 registered voters pulled levers, and in West Windsor, 1,”623 out of 14,”054 voted.
For the budget, 421 in Plainsboro voted yes, and 249 voted no. In West Windsor, the margin of victory was smaller, with 859 voting in favor, and 764 opposed. In Plainsboro, where the school tax bill decreased by .3 percent this year, 515 voted to reform the tax apportionment, and 146 voted against it. In West Windsor, where the school taxes levy rose by 5.7 percent this year, 1,”251 voted to change the distribution of the tax burden, and 365 voted against it.
On Tuesday, April 24, the board will hold its annual reorganization meeting to determine whether Marathe and Johnson will remain president and vice president.
