Wayne Pollworker Told Residents To Vote Against Full-Day Kindergarten, Complaints Say

Voters complained to Wayne Clerk Paul Marigotta that poll workers commented to residents Tuesday on how they should vote for full-day kindergarten.

According to residents and Marigotta, a poll worker at John F. Kennedy Elementary School commented to voters about the full-day kindergarten vote. Another worker at George Washington Middle School allegedly told a voter that their taxes would be increasing should they vote in favor of full-day kindergarten and that they gave ”their own commentary on how to vote or why they shouldn’t vote,” Marigotta said.

Margiotta said he notified the Passaic County Board of Elections about the alleged behavior and went to George Washington and told poll workers that they could not tell people how to vote.

George Washington was a voting location for Ward 3 residents, district 2 residents, and John F. Kennedy was where Ward 4 voters in districts 3 and 4 went to vote.

The ballot question of whether Wayne should raise $2.1 million in taxes to fund full-day kindergarten next school year was voted down Tuesday 4,455 to 5,048, results from the Passaic County clerk’s office show. Approving the measure would have meant a $65 increase in school taxes this year.

Tracy Rozansky and a dedicated group of residents launched a grassroots campaign to get people to vote yes. She and others handed out hundreds of flyers and created a Facebook group and GoFundMe campaign in support of the full-day initiative.

“It’s disappointing,” Rozansky said. ”I think people who came out to vote didn’t know the facts and just looked at the taxes. The naysayers were fed up with the taxes, they didn’t want their taxes to go up one dime. I feel the town did a disservice to itself.”

Rozansky said the push to bring full-day kindergarten to the district will continue.

“Things are going to have to get cut,” she said. “The entire budget could be put back up to a town-wide vote in April. The people who voted no or didn’t vote at all did a disservice to everyone.”