Incumbents lose two seats on school board $66M spending plan approved at the polls BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP Staff Writer North Brunswick residents voted Tuesday for a school budget that will raise tax rate by 15 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. Of the 1,996 voters who turned out for the school budget and Board of Education election, 1,021 voted in favor of the $66.8 million 2004-05 school budget, according to the Township Clerk’s Office. The budget, which will raise the school tax rate from $2.10 to $2.25 per $100 of assessed valuation, passed by 109 votes. School taxes for the owner of a home assessed at $154,700, the township average, will increase by $231, according to Board of Education Business Administrator Marshall Sigall. Of the 26 voting districts, nine voted against passing the budget. Districts in the Parsons, Livingston Park and John Adams areas of town voted against the proposed budget. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Rimmer said he was thrilled that the budget passed. "This was truly a maintenance budget," Rimmer said. "We are happy that we will be able to maintain the excellent quality of services that we provide for our students here in the district." The district will receive $8.7 million in state aid, which is a $253,000 increase over last year, Sigal said. The $4.6 million increase over last year’s budget is the result of "having to meet the needs created by an always increasing enrollment in our district schools," Sigal said. District elementary schools will receive four elementary classroom teachers, four sub-area teachers, one physical education teacher and one special education coordinator under the provisions of the new budget. The district will also hire two teachers, two aides and two one-on-one aides with expertise in special education, Sigal said. "Although the budget does not implement any new programs, it does allow us to maintain the current standards in our schools and handle the increase in student population," Board President Fred Manning said. Manning said he was concerned that the overall increases in proposed school budgets statewide would influence residents to vote down the board’s proposed budget. "In general, many of the state municipalities were looking at high increases, and that could have hindered the passage," Manning said. In Middlesex County, North Brunswick was one of only 15 other municipalities that passed their school budgets, according to the Middlesex County clerk’s office. Eight out of 24 Middlesex County municipalities voted down their proposed budgets and will send them to their municipal governing bodies for review, modification and approval, according to the county clerk’s office. Statewide, 67 percent of all of the municipalities voted to pass the school budgets proposed by their school boards. In the Board of Education election, the teachers’ ticket candidates took all three open board seats in North Brunswick. Newcomers Anne Casey and Karen Hirrschoff, and incumbent Curtis Kristjanson, will serve three-year terms on the board. Casey received the most votes with 1,025. Hirrschoff received 967 votes and Kristjanson garnered 722 votes. They beat incumbents Rita Goldstein and Barbara Snepar, former board member Robert J. Haws, and newcomers Melba A. Eaton and Damian Scialabba. Goldstein and Snepar supporters attributed the incumbents’ loss to a large teacher support group that turned out to vote in the election. The North Brunswick Township Education Association sent New Jersey Education Association members a letter on April 14 that endorsed Casey, Hirrschoff and Kristjanson. "It is time to increase the number of association allies on the board and further improve the quality of public education here in town," the letter, signed by the NBTEA executive committee and representative council, stated. The letter urged township NJEA members to encourage relatives, neighbors and friends to vote for Casey, Hirrschoff and Kristjanson. "The North Brunswick Township Education Association strongly urges you to vote for three particularly qualified and dedicated candidates who deserve our support," the letter stated. "Anne and Karen are recently retired North Brunswick school teachers and committed NJEA colleagues. Curt is a valuable member of the current board who has earned our trust." Goldstein and Snepar both declined to comment on their losses. Hirrschoff, a life-long resident of North Brunswick who taught music education in the district for 33 years, said, "I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the Board of Education to better the school system." Hirrschoff said she would focus on improving the overall quality of education for students in the district. "As a board, we will have to face the very important issues of bringing up the district test scores and improving school safety," Hirrschoff said. Casey, a resident of the township for 34 years who recently retried from teaching in the district for 29 years, said her primary focus as a new board member will be on the efficient completion of the $29 million renovation to North Brunswick Township High School. "I have been an active participant at board meetings for about 10 years now and I know this board faces many continuing issues in the district, particularly the construction at the high school," Casey said. Current board member Gail DiPane said having former teachers sit as members of the board "is the next best thing to having the parents of our students sitting as board members. "We will work together for the good of the kids," DiPane said. Manning congratulated the winners and said, "My heart goes out to those who wanted to serve for the kids that didn’t get a chance to." Re-elected board member Kristjanson could not be reached for comment.