School Budgets: A concluding unscientific postscript

In a concluding unscientific postscript, PT takes a look at the school budget approval process (with apologies to Søren Kierkegaard).

School budgets are typically the largest tax-funded expenditure in any community, Union County not excepted.

Plainfield's total school expenditures are approximately double the city's budget, coming in at about $117M, of which $17M is raised by the city school levy.

Taking a look at all the Union County communities, as reported in the Star-Ledger, the first thing one notices is the small number of people who exercise the right to decide on the annual school budgets. The table below shows the votes for this year by community, ranked from largest (Elizabeth) to smallest (Winfield).

Since voter registration figures were not readily available, percentages are calculated on the total population (hence the 'unscientific' in the title). Even so, the results should be roughly indicative.

Berkely Heights, at 16.3%, and Scotch Plains/Fanwood, at 14%, had the highest voter participation relative to total population.

Elizabeth and Plainfield brought up the rear, with Plainfield dead last at 1.9%.

But there is another story inside the story of the low turnouts.

That is how many of those who turn out to vote DO NOT VOTE FOR A SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE.

Comparing the highest vote-getter among the candidates and the total number of votes cast for and against the budget question, one can get an idea of the number of people who voted on the budget question ONLY.

In Rahway, where the highest vote-getter received 531 votes and the total budget vote was 1,037, the difference -- 506 votes -- indicates that 48.8% of Rahway voters did not vote for a school board candidate at all.

In Plainfield, the highest vote-getter received 765 votes. Subtracted from the 883 budget vote total, there were 118 votes cast on the budget question only -- or 13.4% -- which placed Plainfielders as the community MOST concerned about school board candidates versus the budget question.

Union County School Budget Votes, 2007 (Ranked by population)
TOWN	YES	NO	TOTAL	POPULATION	%
Elizabeth	1,524	1,414	2,938	120,568	2.4
Union	1,124	729	1,853	54,405	3.4
Plainfield	483	400	883	47,829	1.9
Linden	967	949	1,916	39,394	4.9
Westfield	1,956	1,094	3,050	29,644	10.3
Rahway	628	409	1,037	26,500	4.0
Scotch Plains /Fanwood*	2,513	1,651	4,164	29,906	14.0
Cranford	1,259	746	2,005	22,578	8.9
Hillside	413	500	913	21,747	4.2
Roselle	404	556	960	21,274	4.5
Clark	675	297	972	14,597	6.7
Springfield	951	399	1,350	14,429	9.4
Berkeley Heights	1,335	853	2,188	13,407	16.3
Roselle Park	531	403	934	13,281	7.0
New Providence	518	430	948	11,907	8.0
Kenilworth	295	366	661	7,675	8.6
Mountainside	385	194	579	6,602	8.8
Garwood	176	292	468	4,153	11.3
Winfield	127	41	168	1,514	11.1
*Scotch Plains population is 22,732; Fanwood's is 7,174.

School Budgets in the news:

Courier: "Voters OK budgets in most polls"
Ledger: "Voters OK 15 of 19 school tabs"

-- Dan Damon

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