UPDATE: Shore Regional, Long Branch Levies Pass

Voters in the Shore Regional School District and the Long Branch district approved the 2011-12 school budget tax levies Wednesday.

The unofficial Shore Regional tally was 1052-832. Long Branch voters approved their levy by a 766 to 520 margin.

Results are not official until certified by the Board of Elections.

Check back with Long Branch Patch for more updates.

After months of discussion at local board of education meetings and budget workshops, the polls for local school elections are now closed and the results are coming in.

Polls are open until 9 p.m. for residents to vote on the Shore Regional High School and Long Branch Public Schools' budgets.

Voters will cast ballots on proposal local school district tax levies and candidates for open Board of Education seats.

Check back later tonight for updates on the school budgets as well as the board of education race in Long Branch.

We will have full results tonight as quickly as we can post them.

Shore Regional High School:

For the Shore Regional High School budget, residents in three of the four sending districts will vote on proposed average tax hikes of $50 in West Long Branch, $114 in Oceanport and $91 in Monmouth Beach. Sea Bright residents will vote on an average tax decrease of $220. 

The total proposed tax levy for Shore Regional is $14,386,255, a 2-percent increase over the 2010-2011 tax levy of $14,104,171.

There will not be any changes to the Shore Regional Board of Education this year as three incumbents are running for three open seats.

Current BOE Vice President Russell Olivadotti, Ronald O'Neill, both of West Long Branch, and Ted Szczurek, of Oceanport, will be running to hold their seats for additional three-year terms.

The following is a list of polling locations for Shore Regional voting:

Monmouth Beach

Borough Hall (22 Beach Road)

Oceanport:

District 1:  Old Wharf House

District 2  Port-Au-Peck Chemical Hose Firehouse

District 3  Oceanport Community Center

District 4  Hook and Ladder Fire House

District 5  Port-Au-Peck Chemical Hose Firehouse

Sea Bright:

Borough Hall (1167 Ocean Avenue)

West Long Branch:

District 1 Borough Chemical & Truck Company No. 1 (732) 229-1223
Monmouth Road 

District 2 Community Center (Downstairs) (732) 870-1549
Locust Avenue 

District 3 Community Center (Upstairs)(732) 870-1549
Locust Avenue

District 4 Community Center (Upstairs) (732) 870-1549
Locust Avenue

District 5 Community Center (Downstairs) (732) 870-1549
Locust Avenue 

District 6 Old First United Methodist Church (732) 222-4232
Locust Avenue

Long Branch Public Schools:

The Long Branch Public Schools budget totals $74,517,816. Of that total, $31,570,923 - a zero percent increase from last year - will be raised from local taxpayers.

Two incumbent Long Branch Board of Education members are joined by three newcomers in seeking school board seats.

Incumbents Violeta Peters and Armand R. Zambrano will be running to reclaim their seats and Norman Palmer, James N. Parnell and Allan Menkin will also be running. Current board member Rose Widdis will not be running for re-election this year.

The following is a list of voting locations for the Long Branch Public Schools voting:

District 1        Elberon Fire House, 173 Lincoln Avenue 

District 2        West End Fire House, 595 Second Avenue

District 3        West End Fire House, 595 Second Avenue

District 4        Elberon Fire House, 173 Lincoln Avenue

District 5        Operation Life Building, 384 Second Avenue

District 6        Long Branch High School (Indiana Ave entrance, Main Lobby)

District 7        Oceanic Fire House, 29 Norwood Avenue

District 8        Operation Life Building, 384 Second Avenue

District 9        Morris Avenue School (Willow Ave entrance)

District 10      Neptune Fire House, 30 Branchport Avenue

District 11      Long Branch Senior Center, 85 Second Avenue

District 12      Long Branch Main Library, 328 Broadway

District 13      Independent Fire House, 205 Union Avenue

District 14      Anastasia School, 7th Avenue

District 15      Lenna Conrow School, LB Avenue entrance

District 16      Oliver Byron Fire House, 45 Atlantic Avenue

District 17      Lenna Conrow School, LB Avenue entranceThe boards of both schools have adopted the proposed budgets.

If the tax levy fails on April 27 in either town, it goes to the respective municipal council, which can leave it intact or cut it.