Voters in Teaneck rejected budgets for school systems yesterday after the districts sought to raise property taxes that are already the highest in the U.S.

Teaneck, which proposed a 10 percent property-tax increase, voters defeated the budget 4,790- 3,618. The plan would have raised the local levy by $474 on the average home assessed at $466,100. The unofficial vote count doesn’t include absentee ballots, he said.

The below unofficial results show an unprecedented voter turnout in Teaneck’s Board of Ed Election with nearly 33% of the eligible voters voting on the budget. Turnout was clearly considerably higher as evidenced by districts such as 13, 15 and 16 where individual candidates received more votes than the budget.

As expected the budget was defeated, but not by the percentages that some predicted. With a slate of candidates vigorously campaigning against the budget and with the NJ governor actively campaigning to have voters defeat budgets statewide, there were predictions of 3 to 1 and 4 to 1 defeats. The margin of defeat was only 14% despite the proposed budget’s 10.2% tax increase.

In Teaneck election season is in full swing. Hopefully the electorate’s interest will hold over to the municipal elections in
three weeks.

THE NUMBERS:

Pruitt 5152
Rodriguez 4993
Kaminetsky 4032
Sandor 3614
Einhorn 3485
Fisher 4586

Yes 3618
No 4790
Budget fails

Meanwhile, Teaneck High School students have staged a  walkout this morning to protest Tuesday’s defeat of the school budget.

“Teaneck budget! We ain’t budging!” many were chanting. Two dozen students stood outside the entrance at 8 a.m.; by 8:20, the crowd had swelled to include virtually the entire school.

With teachers and administrators looking on, the students walked around the track outside the school. The marching band
provided the music. The protest ended at 9:30 a.m.

The tax levy for the $95 million budget, which included an 8 percent increase in the school tax rate, was rejected by a hefty margin in an election that saw enormous turnout. The Township Council will now have the opportunity to cut the budget’s bottom line.

Students have vowed to attend council meetings to pressure officials to keep cuts to a minimum.

(YWN – Teaneck / NorthJersey News / Business Week)