Roberts: Move School Elections to November

ROBERTS: MOVE SCHOOL ELECTIONS TO NOVEMBER
Speaker Says Low-Turnout Proves April Votes Fail to Resonate With Voters;
Aims for June Vote on Measure to Put School Board Members on November Ballot

(TRENTON) - Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr. today said the expectedly low statewide voter turnout for Tuesday's annual school board elections proves that the traditional April votes fail to resonate with voters and should be scrapped in favor of November balloting.

"It's time for New Jersey to wake up to the reality that the April school elections are a poor way to decide the direction of public education in districts across the state," said Roberts (D-Camden). "It makes no sense to continue holding elections in which a super-minority of voters participate. Greater voter turnout will lead to greater accountability when it comes to property taxpayers' money."

The Speaker said he plans to move legislation before the end of June that would effectuate the move.

Published reports have approximated Tuesday's statewide voter turnout at a paltry 14 percent. Over the past decade, approximately 15 percent of voters actually make it to the polls for the April balloting; no school election in at least the past 25 years has topped 20 percent turnout.

Roberts said the idea of moving school elections to November has bipartisan support, citing three measures currently introduced before the Legislature:

• A-1226, sponsored by Assemblyman David Wolfe (R-Ocean);
• S-488, sponsored by Senators Shirley Turner (D-Mercer) and Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex);
• S-794, sponsored by Senator Leonard Lance (R-Hunterdon).

Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Jerry Green said he would craft and introduce legislation that would bring together the ideas from those bipartisan measures into one comprehensive bill. Green noted that in his hometown of Plainfield, only 5.5 percent of voters - little more than 1,000 of the city's 18,000 registered voters - cast ballots on Tuesday.

"Democrats and Republicans agree that April's school elections have failed to spark any significant public participation," said Green (D-Union). "Higher voter turnouts from a November school election will give a community a real say in how local schools are operated. It's about time New Jersey requires school board candidates to face the greatest possible voter scrutiny."

The Speaker also noted that two of the special joint committees created as part of the Legislature's 2006 special session on property tax reform - the joint legislative committees on Consolidation and Shared Services and Public School Funding Reform - advocated moving school votes to November to boost turnout and lower election-administration costs.

"If we want to make school board elections meaningful, they should be rescheduled for November, when voters are most engaged," said Roberts. "If you want to have real accountability, you have to start with real elections."

-- A one-page policy background paper on the Speaker's initiative follows. --

SHIFTING SCHOOL ELECTIONS TO THE NOVEMBER BALLOT

Proposal:  Shift school board elections to the November ballot.

Problem:  Currently, school board elections and school budget votes occur in April.  The result is an inefficient system that creates an unnecessary expense and artificially low voter turnout.  This in turn, produces an election that is not truly representative of the majority of the community.  Poor voter turnout for school budget votes result in remarkably few residents deciding on the expenditure of significant tax dollars.  Additionally, the recent focus on the efficiency levels of small towns makes it imperative to provide those communities with the tools necessary to reduce costs.

• New Jersey has 616 school districts.
• Voter turnout for school board elections averages approximately 15 percent.
• In the highest turnout year (18.6 percent) in the past 25 years (1991) the third highest percent of rejected budgets existed totaling 44.1 percent.
• A direct correlation exists between increased voter participation and school budget rejection over the past 25 years.  In 7 of 8 years that voter turnout dipped below 15 percent, more than 75 percent of district budgets were approved by voters.  The other 17 years when voter turnout was above 15 percent, only once did 75 percent of district budgets receive voter approval.   
• Voter turnout has not exceeded 18.6 percent in the past 25 years.
• The majority of states conduct school elections in November to maximize efficiency, participation and reduce electoral costs.

Solution:  Move school board elections to November.  The vote on school budgets will be eliminated, with the exception of special budget proposals to exceed the spending cap, which would now be voted on in November.  This solution ensures that a larger number of residents participate in their school elections while eliminating the taxpayer costs associated with conducting stand-alone school board elections.