Cranbury voters say 'yes' to budget

[news]

Cranbury voters say 'yes' to budget

By Maria Prato-Gaines, Staff Writer
Posted: Friday, April 18, 2008 11:16 AM EDT

CRANBURY — It was a good night for the Cranbury school board.

The $16.6 million spending plan passed and all three Board of Education candidates were voted in as Tuesday’s election night went by without a hitch.

About 17 percent of registered voters in Cranbury, or 447 residents, cast their votes. The budget was approved by 141 votes with 287 residents voting yes versus the 146 who voted it down.

The Board of Education introduced its proposed $16.6 million school budget for 2008-09 in early March. Under the plan, which calls for an increase in spending of $956,178, the school tax rate will increase 4.13 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to 85.46 cents. At that rate, the owner of a home assessed at $668,923, the township average, would pay $5,716 in school taxes, a $276 increase.

Many voters saw any increase in the budget as a way to benefit their children’s education.

”I’m voting yes so my kids can have what they need — the programs, the supplies, the teachers,” said Alyse Lipschutz, a Cranbury resident.

Still other residents saw their vote as giving a much broader message to the state.

”I know (Gov. Jon) Corzine is looking to consolidate smaller districts with larger districts, so it’s a huge year to show the state that Cranbury Township can pass its own budget,” said Kelly Lehman, a Cranbury resident who has been campaigning to pass the budget for the past few weeks.

But not everyone felt the same way.

”I’d vote against anything that raises my taxes,” said Linda Bowker, a Cranbury resident.
...
http://www.packetonline.com/articles/2008/04/18/cranbury_press/news/doc4808b25988b88990050216.prt