Shore Regional, West Long School Districts May Move Elections To November

The West Long Branch and school boards are carefully considering whether or not to move school elections from April to November.

West Long Branch School District Interim Superintendent Herbert Massa said the board of education (BOE) will discuss the possibility during its meeting on Tuesday night at the at 7 p.m.

Shore Regional High School Business Administrator Dennis Kotch said the BOE will vote on the matter at its meeting on Jan. 26.

"The superintendent and I will be recommending to the board that they pass this resolution at our board meeting on Thursday," Kotch said in an email. "The board then must decide."

The West Long Branch BOE has a resolution to move elections to November on its agenda, but Massa said the board will just be discussing it.

"We will not vote on it at that meeting," Massa said on Monday.

He said the resolution would appear on a future meeting agenda.

Gov. Chris Christie, last week, signed new legislation that allows local school board elections to be moved from April to November. 

The legislation states that the date of the school election can be moved to November upon the adoption of a resolution by the board of education or the governing body.

The bill also potentially eliminates the ability of the public to vote on school district budgets, should they stay within the state-mandated 2 percent spending cap.

According to a release from the governor's office, "A district that has moved its annual school election to November would not require voter approval for a base budget, but any proposal to exceed the 2 percent tax levy cap would be presented for voter approval in November."

"District board members elected in November would take office at the beginning of January," the release states.