School Budget Defeated in Galloway Township

The Galloway Township School District's Proposed Budget was unofficially defeated, 902-875, in the school board elections Wednesday night.

The school district now has two days to submit a packet concerning the budget to Galloway Township Clerk Lisa Tilton. A committee from the school district will then meet with the town council to discuss the budget.

The council decides how much, if anything, to cut out of the budget, but it is up to the school district to decide where those cuts will be made.

The deadline for the governing body to certify the final tax rate is May 19.

The $53,729,135 budget called for a tax levy of $28,338,076. It translated into eight-tenths of a cent tax increase, or $16 a year on a home assessed at $200,000.

A total of 1,803 people voted in this year's election, but only 1,777 of those who participated voted either way on the budget. The difference in number of people who voted for candidates but not the budget was 26 votes; the budget was defeated by 27 votes.

"The board and the administration believed we developed a fiscally responsible and educationally sound budget," Galloway Township Superintendent of Schools Annette Giaquinto said. "We are disappointed by the loss."

Also as part of Wednesday night’s election, former Galloway Board of Education President Ernest Huggard was re-elected to the board. Huggard served on the board previously from 1998-2010, but was not re-elected last year when four people ran for three open seats.

Huggard drew the fourth position on the ballot last year, which many people believe to be the reason he wasn’t re-elected. With three open seats this year, current board member Eileen Kasunich chose not to run for re-election, while Huggard decided he would.

Current Board President John Knorr collected the most votes of the three candidates, with 1,144. Huggard had 1,143. Board Vice President George Schwenger collected 1,119 votes. There were 24 write-in votes. All numbers remain unofficial until they are certified.

The Galloway Board of Education’s reorganization meeting is scheduled for May 9.

"Things were quiet this year," Giaquinto said. "We didn't have a strong sense of the climate. We didn't get any negative feedback. The closeness of the vote is good in a way, but it's frustrating because we lost by so few votes."

Early in the day, Galloway Patch spoke with a few voters who all voted in favor of the budget after the budget's defeat last year resulted in the school district being forced to make several cuts.

Last year's result weighed on Galloway resident Rosa Vasquez’s mind before she went out to vote at Roland Rogers Elementary School on Wednesday.

“Teachers got laid off last year and I don’t want to see that happen again,” said Vasquez, who said last year’s vote had a direct impact on her voting in favor of the budget this year. “ … I don’t want to see an increase (in taxes, but) I also don’t want them to cut budgets.”

Vasquez has two children who attend Roland Rogers, one in kindergarten and one in first grade.

Other residents said last year’s result had no impact on their decision because they always vote yes on the budget, including former Atlantic City schoolteacher Merle Hurst-Kyle.

“Anyone who’s been in education knows what it takes,” said Hurst-Kyle, whose two children went through the Galloway school system and are now in law school and writing comedy in Los Angeles, respectively. “ … (The school system) is why I think both have been successful, both because of their extracurriculars and what they did in the classroom.”

“I voted yes because I support the schools,” said Heather Greblunas, whose daughter is in first grade at Roland Rogers. “They do an excellent job. I believe the money that is paid is minimal for the education they get. They provide an excellent education here.”

Sylvia Banfield doesn’t have any children in the school system, but she still recognized the importance of voting in favor of the school budget, and of voting in general.

“I voted yes because I want to be supportive of the teachers,” said Banfield, a voter in every election of every kind. “I enjoy exercising my right to vote.”

In the end, seven of the 14 sending districts voted in favor of the budget, with Districts 1,2,4,8,9,13 and 14 voting against, and 3,5,7,10,11, and 12 voting in favor of, the budget.

The school district had some help from the state putting this year’s budget together. After massive cuts were handed down by the state last year, $21,707,561 was put back into the system this year.

This year’s budget was up nearly $1 million, but was still down from the $56,694,306 budget of two years ago.

As previously stated by the board, several areas of the system would benefit, including the return of several positions previously cut, additional multi-disciplinary assistance teachers and the reinstatement of co-curricular and sports stipends.

Facilities and maintenance improvements would be possible across the school system, an additional day of after-school busing for the middle school would be possible, and additional busing for the Arthur Rann School would also be possible, due to the complexities of its location and parking situation.