SECAUCUS AND BEYOND — Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli announced his opposition to moving the annual school board election from its current date in April to November in a press statement issued today. The response comes after Gov. Christopher Christie signed a law earlier this month that permits a local board of education, the mayor and council, or voters by referendum to move the election to the date of the November general election.
The issue is one that will be considered soon by the districts in Hudson County that have annual April school board elections, including Jersey City and Hoboken. Some districts already have an appointed school board and will not be affected by the issue.
“Having the non-partisan school election on the same ballot with the political offices will not only be confusing, but could lead to political involvement in our schools,” Gonnelli said. “Our community is blessed with a great educational system which attracts families to Secaucus and keeps our property values high. We should do everything we can to preserve this high standing and work to make Secaucus even better.”
He also said that the change would mean that candidates filing for election on the school board must do so with the county clerk by the June primary election date, which gives it the potential to become a five-month political campaign, instead of the traditional seven week campaign.
“Candidates would have to raise and spend considerably more campaign funds to get his or her message to the voters due to other offices being contested at the same time. For example, headline news stories and advertisements will be dominated by the race for President, U.S. Senator, and Congress this year. Our school board election is very important to the residents of the community as history has proven. It is important to keep that electoral process clear,” said Gonnelli in a statement.
However, proponents of the move to November say that it will save the money it costs to run an extra election, and will greatly increase voter turnout. Turnout in Secaucus, Hoboken, and other towns for school board elections has consistently been in the teens in terms of percent of registered voters.
Gonnelli said he also opposes the change because he prefers to have the community vote on the school budget. “First of all, there would be no budget vote if it calls for less than a 2 percent increase. This action would eliminate public input on school spending.”
All six Secaucus council members as well as the nine board of education members oppose moving the elections to November, according to an informal poll conducted by the mayor.
The deadline to change the election date to November is Feb. 17. The school board has scheduled a special meeting on Thursday, Feb. 9.
“I hope the board members in attendance share the same opinion and choose to leave the election where it is in April to remove any fear of politics being involved,” said Gonnelli.
For coverage of the issue in other towns, keep watching your local Reporter in the next two weeks.