Election Day for School Budget, Board of Ed Seats

The polls are now open for Wyckoff residents to decide on the proposed $35.9 million budget which would mean a $156 property tax increase based on the average assessed home value of $810,000 in the township.

Voters will also decide the Ramapo-Indian Hills Board of Education 2011-12 budget, which reflects a 2.56 percent increase in spending and a 0.52 percent decrease to the tax levy.

In order to pass, the $49 million budget needs a cumulative majority from the three sending municipalities of Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes and Oakland. 

If approved in today's vote, residents in Oakland  will pay about $36 less and Franklin Lakes will pay about $41 less for the average home.Wyckoff residents will see a $90 increase on a home assessed at $810,600, the township’s average.

These figures represent a cost savings over the proposed budget. The increase in spending was reduced from 2.83 percent to 2.56 percent, and the decrease to the tax levy went up to a .52 percent decrease from a .24 decrease.

Residents will also be asked to select members to fill vacancies on Wyckoff Board of Education and the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional Board of Education.

The four candidates for the Wyckoff School District who will vie for two, three-year terms are Karl Drehwing, current BOE President Anthony Robert Francin, board member Thomas Giamanco and Board Vice President Lisa Martone. 

Raymond Hovey is running uncontested for a single, one-year term.

Three seats on the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional Board of Education are up for election, one in Wyckoff and two in Oakland. No Franklin Lakes terms are expiring this year. In Wyckoff, the three candidates vying for the seat currently held by Jeff Brown, who is not seeking re-election are Isabelle Lanini, Kenneth A. Porro and Sabaudin Skenderi.

and watch video of the Wyckoff School District candidates at a recent forum.

Polls are scheduled to close at 9:00 p.m.

Rebecca Abma contributed to this report.