After voting down the 2010-2011 proposed school budget last year, township residents voted in favor of the over $59 million spending plan this year.
Unofficial results based on initial vote counts Wednesday night show about 1,284 residents voting in favor of the budget, about 60.7 percent of voters. About 832 voters cast a ballot against the budget.
There were 15,181 registered voters this year, of which about 2,129 cast their opinion on the district’s budget proposal, a 14 percent voter turnout.
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The vote quelled fears of the Board members who were weary that back-to-back budget defeats would impact students in the district.
"I think that this was a realistic budget, given the economic times. However, we are very grateful for the support of the people," Superintendent Dr. Charles Montesano, who is retiring at the end of this school year, said of his last budget vote in the district.
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"It is a very nice feeling knowing I don't have to go into the office tomorrow thinking, 'what do we have to cut?'"
The budget will cost taxpayers about 2.43 percent more in taxes over last year, a budget-to-budget increase of 1.66 percent. The discrepancy comes as the result of the school and municipality operating on different calendars.
The budget includes $1.2 million in state aid, and about $55 million will come from taxpayers in Mahwah.
The budget includes some increased spending on maintenance and special education, and reduction of spending on regular programs, school-sponsored athletics and co-curricular activities. However, the budget does not call for any planned reduction in staff.
The three board members who were up for reelection, Board President Patricia Shada, Peter Wendrychowicz, and Kenneth Angelo, all ran unopposed and will resume their roles on the Board for another three-year term.
In 2010, about 22 percent of registered voters came out to defeat the budget by a vote of 1,736-1,552, or 52.8 percent to 47.2 percent. That resulted in the town council cutting about $250K from the school’s proposed budget.
Budget Vote, Break-Down by District:
District
Yes
No
1
143
69
2
144
90
3
125
94
4
89
76
5
74
62
6
97
49
7
130
66
8
78
54
9
27
10
10
119
51
11
113
87
12
47
52
13
52
37
14
46
35
TOTAL
1284
832
60.7 percent voted yes, in favor of the budget.
39.3 percent voted no, against the budget.
Voter Turnout:
District
# Registered Voters
# Voting
Percentage Voting
1
1397
212
15.2
2
1142
237
20.8
3
1067
220
20.6
4
980
166
16.9
5
866
136
15.7
6
1087
147
13.5
7
1360
196
14.4
8
1,333
133
10
9
406
37
9.1
10
1292
172
13.3
11
1492
202
13.5
12
709
100
14.1
13
1015
89
8.8
14
1035
82
7.9
TOTAL
15,181
2129
14.0
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