On January 29 the WW-P Board of Education voted to change the date of the school elections from April to November. Two letters received before the vote commented on some of the reasons for the change:
Several years ago I offered my opinion that the effort by the New Jersey legislature to move both school board elections and the annual school budget vote from April to November would be unwise.
I noted then that progressive reformers led efforts 100 years ago to move school board elections from November to April, to promote non-partisanship and to guard against patronage and corruption.
I am still not convinced that moving school board elections to November will improve the quality of either school boards or educational policy. Voters who have neither the interest nor the energy to vote in April are unlikely to be more informed and concerned in November. Votes will be cast for school board members simply because voters are there to support other causes, candidates, and issues that are — or should be — unconnected to school board elections.
What’s different now is that if a school board moves the election of its members to November, the annual school budget vote is abolished, so long as the budget is within the State mandated cap. The enormous time and effort that are devoted to campaigning for a budget that is within the State cap would be better spent improving instruction and furthering student success.
I reluctantly support the move of school board elections to November because I believe, in balance, that the benefits to be gained outweigh the injury to nonpartisanship.
Robert J. Johnson
WW-P Board of Education
