Schools
Keep School Elections in April, Committee Recommends
Vote gives residents check on spending plan, board member says.
While voters in some 500 New Jersey school districts will cast their ballots for school board candidates in the November General Election, Chatham Borough and Chatham Township have opted to continue holding school elections in April.
The Finance Committee for the School District of the Chathams recommends keeping it that way, board member Matthew Gilfillan said at Wednesday's board meeting.
He said the committee sees the April vote—which puts the budget up for vote each year while November elections do not as long as the spending plan stays under a 2 percent cap—as providing a "high quality checks and balance in terms of spending decisions the Board of Ed makes."
The School District of the Chathams is one of about 40 districts with April elections.
In 2012, a new law gave school boards, municipal governing bodies or voters the option to move the annual school election from April to the November General Election, according to the New Jersey School Boards Association. The law was designed to increase participation, and supporters said it eliminates the cost of running the additional election in April.
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