Schools
Shift to November Leaves School Elections with Little Cash, Less Attention
No longer requiring public OK of budgets also cited as factor in declining interest, drop in campaign spending.
With most them now moved from April to November, New Jersey’s school elections have not only become the quiet cousins in statewide elections, but they continue to see less and less political cash as well.
According to data from the state’s Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC), only $550,000 was spent statewide on local school-board races in April and November, continuing a drop from previous years. More than $1 million was raised, but that, too, was a drop from the peak of more than $1.5 million in 2011.
The bulk of that spending this year was in Union County races, and a quarter overall was spent just in Elizabeth, where school board politics are epic. For the first time ever, a super PAC tied to state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union) contributed to one school-board ticket in the November election.
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