By DON STINE
Neptune school officials have decided to move the Board of Education elections to November instead of April, when they were traditionally held.
Neptune is one of just a small number of municipalities in New Jersey that still held its school board elections in April. State lawmakers passed legislation in 2012 that allowed districts to move their elections to November.
“We are one of the very few school districts that continued to have April elections; however, they are expensive and create security issues so we decided to move it to November,” Neptune School Superintendent Tami Crader said this week.
She said that voters entering schools to vote in April creates a security problem since schools are still open. She said by moving the vote to November, the cost for the election will be shared with the township and that schools are normally closed for the November election anyway.
This means that incumbent board members Jason A. Jones, Donna L. Puryear and Michelle Allen Moss will have their terms extended until November
Voters will also not cast ballots on the school district’s annual budget as long as it remains within the state-imposed, two-percent cap on spending increases.
“We have always stayed under the two-percent cap and voters will not be asked to vote unless the budget goes over the cap or if there is a special referendum on the ballot,” Crader said.
She said the school district will get $11 million less in state aid this year.
