School Budget Passes; 58 Percent Vote Yes

UPDATE: 10:58 a.m. Chatham residents approved the School District of the Chathams budget on Tuesday by a much smaller margin than they did last year, but district officials blamed the increase in "no" votes on statewide anti-tax sentiment and on comments made by Gov. Chris Christie leading up to the vote.

The budget, which totals $54.2 million and carries a $51.6 million local tax levy, was passed by voters by a count of 2,497-1,773. The numbers were made final this morning after absentee ballots were counted.

About 58 percent of those who came to the polls voted in favor of the budget, while approximately 42 percent voted against it.

In the borough, 1,201 residents voted for the budget, while 830 voted against it—meaning 59 percent of borough residents voted in favor of the proposal. About 58 percent of township residents voted for the budget—1,296 people voted yes and 943 voted no.

There was about a 30 percent voter turnout, and poll workers said voting sites at Chatham High School and Chatham Middle School were busy throughout the day, with some people being forced to wait in line for 45 minutes. In some cases, officials said, people left because the wait was too long.

Last year, the turnout was 24 percent, and the budget passed by a larger margin—71 percent of people voted yes, while 29 percent voted no.

"I'm very pleased that the turnout was as high as it was today, and I'm very pleased that there were more yes votes than no," Board of Education Vice President Steve Barna said at district offices after the results came in. "I think we're going to need to do a little research to see what ... the no votes came out from. Was it really our local budget or was it really reflective of things that were happening in Trenton? I think we owe it to ourselves to have a better handle on why there are 'no' votes."

Superintendent Jim O'Neill said he felt comments made by Gov. Chris Christie encouraging people, among other things, to vote no on budgets in districts where teachers did not agree to a pay freeze brought more people out to vote against the budget.

The Association of Chatham Teachers and Secretaries will likely not agree to such a freeze.

"I think it's better that more people vote. I think they feel more validated that they voted," O'Neill said after hearing the results. "But my sense of it is that some of them voted on an emotional basis because of a sound bite they heard, not because they really understood the budget.

"Anybody who understands that one of the top-performing districts in the state of New Jersey is than the state average [per student], I think you would have to question why they vote no," O'Neill said.

He gave credit to the schools' Parent Teacher Organizations for encouraging people to vote for the budget.

"This is an exceptional community, and parents are vested in an excellent school system," O'Neill said. "They support us with their time, their energy, their resources, and they came out in strong enough numbers to offset the increase in the no vote."

The majority of budgets up for votes in Morris County were defeated yesterday, and voters' rejection of Madison's budget was made official this morning.

Voters also selected two new township Board of Education members on Tuesday. Matt Gilfillan and John Nonnenmacher won the seats being vacated by Board President Roger Rogalin and board member Heather Turnbull.