SECAUCUS – School officials may demand a recount of the tally on the school budget, which was rejected by only two votes.
Board trustees were meeting with school administration officials this morning to review the count and discuss the possibility of a recount given the nearly split vote.
On April 17 the first returns on the budget indicated that the budget had passed. But when absentee ballots and provisional votes were included the budget failed by two votes with 944 voting yes to 942 voting no. There were only three provisional votes: 1 yes, 1 no, and 1 did not vote on the budget.
The total operating budget proposed for the 2012-2013 school year was almost $35 million. The tax levy portion represents $31.6 million, an increase of $620,320, which is within the state’s two percent mandatory cap. The budget imposes an average increase of $74 per household in school taxes.
A failed budget would go to the mayor and Town Council for review.
They have until May 21 to make a decision on whether to leave the school board budget intact or make cuts. – Adriana Rambay Fernandez