Three New Members To Mendham Township Board of Ed

The voters of Mendham Township approved the school budget by a 79.47 percent margin and elected two new members to the board of education.

Voter turnout was small, with only 329 people voting yes and 85 voting no for a total of 414 voters.

As one of the only districts in the region that did not move their elections to November, Mendham Township voters had the opportunity to approve their 2013 school budget. Districts that moved their elections will forgo budget referendum as long as the budgets fall within the state’s 2 percent cap.

The budget that passed had the same $13,895,226 tax levy of the past three school years.

This year’s budget will be calculated at a tax rate of $.7972 per $100 of assessment or $797 per $100,000. The ratable loss drops the average home value from $914,361 to $912,203. The result is a $28 increase per average household.

Kenneth Elgarten was also running for a vacant seat on the board of education and garnered 324 to take one of the three spots.

The final two spots were taken by write-in candidates Brian Jendryka and Frank Kontely, according to Mendham Township Clerk Kathleen Potter.

"I have spoken to with nominees and they have verbally accepted their nomination," Potter said.