False Claim #5: “Consolidating Village Council elections with November general elections does not make them partisan or confusing.”

TRUTH: That is merely the biased opinion of five people. In response, Keep Our Vote offers the following quotes from the New Jersey School Board Association, adopted as a resolution by the Ridgewood Board of Education in 2011 titled, “Resolution: In Opposition to Moving the Annual School Election to November”. The entire resolution can be viewed at https://www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us/cms/One.aspx?portalId=207600&pageId=4986657 in the 2010-2011 meeting minutes for March 7, 2011, Attachment E.

“Whereas, Entangling school elections with the partisan municipal, county and state elections would intensify partisan influence over local school board elections and could encourage partisan involvement in school district policies; and

Whereas, Municipalities with non-partisan governments continue to have the option of conducting elections in the spring, distancing the selection of their officials from the partisan November General Election; and

Whereas, Moving school elections to November would require non-partisan school board candidates to campaign at the same time as partisan-backed candidates for state and federal office, thereby requiring them to spend additional money on their campaigns in order to gain voter attention; and

Whereas, School elections must always be based on educational issues, not political party concerns.

Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Ridgewood Board of Education supports many efforts to increase voter participation in the school election, but opposes legislation that would move the election of non-partisan board of education efforts to the November General Election.”