Edison BOE budget passes; bond defeated Maeroff, Van Pelt, Szilagyi victorious in election BY CHRIS GAETANO Staff Writer The Edison Board of Education elections on April 15 have resulted in the budget being approved for the first time in two years, the $52 million school bond referendum failing, and two newcomers - Gene Maeroff and Aimee Szilagyi - being elected to the board and one incumbent, William Van Pelt, retained. The $195,030,235 budget was approved by the voters 3,990 to 3,817, the first time residents have done so in the past two years. This year's spending plan is about $9 million higher than the last, which will result in a tax increase of $87 for the average Edison homeowner. Salaries and benefits make up about 78 percent of the budget. Its passage will remove the fees for hazard busing, which were imposed last year when the budget failed and the township forced about $1.7 million in cuts. The budget had been universally supported by both the administration and all Board of Education candidates, and, naturally, all were happy that the spending plan passed. "[For the] last two years, our budgets were defeated, so we're very happy we don't have to go negotiate with the council about some kind of cut. Last year we took a $1.7 million cut in the budget, which hurt quite a bit, so [the budget's approval] helps us and the kids quite a bit," said district Business Administrator Daniel Michaud. The $52 million bond referendum was defeated by the voters on a vote of 3,644 to 3,983. The bond would have financed a new elementary school as well as additions to other elementary schools in the township. The board had said that the project would be tax neutral because it was predicated on bringing special-education students, for whom the district currently pays other districts to have educated in their schools, back into Edison. The savings from not having to pay tuition and busing costs, it was reasoned, would take care of the debt incurred by the bond. It was argued that the bond was direly needed to accommodate all the students coming into the district. However, the manner in which the bond was introduced to the public was considered controversial. Two board members, Joseph Shannon and Deborah Anes, had said they didn't even know about the bond until the night before it was first brought before the residents at a Dec. 13 board meeting. Many residents hadn't known about the proposal until the night of that same meeting. Many said the proposal was rushed and did not include the public in its creation, a charge leveled by several board candidates during the campaign. In the end, a school-by-school presentation tour to help sell the idea of the bond was not enough. "It's hard to understand what the community [expects] in terms of reducing class sizes and how they would like us to do it. If we can't do it by adding on a few more classrooms, I don't know. It's perplexing to say the least," said Van Pelt, who supported the referendum. Acting Superintendent John Dimuzio said that perhaps people were dissatisfied with the fact that the bond only focused on certain elementary schools; during ongoing discussions about the referendum, many parents wondered why their children's schools were not included. "I think a lot of people thought, maybe, we could have done more than we did - the three schools we did plus the new school. We were overcrowded in some of our other schools, and maybe some of those people felt, well, that they were left out," said Dimuzio. Michaud, however, pointed out that the first bond referendum was to be only the first of a three-part process that would have improved and expanded all the schools. "Phase two and three would help their schools, and we can't get to phase two and three unless we get phase one approved," said Michaud. Finally, of the eight candidates who had been running, the three overall winners were Maeroff with 3,651 votes, Van Pelt with 3,441 votes, and Szilagyi with 3,407 votes. Van Pelt had run on a slate with the other incumbent, Raymond Koperwhats, who received 3,228 votes, and Michael Winters, who received 2,930 votes. Winters was brought in to replace Shannon, who had chosen not to seek re-election this year. Koperwhats was happy the budget was passed, but like his running mate, he regretted the defeat of the bond. "Well, I'm happy the budget passed, but I'm really disappointed that the referendum didn't pass, and I'm disappointed in the crew that ran against us for coming out against it. It's a shame, because they came out against everything that was supported to be for the students, for the kids," said Koperwhats. Maeroff and Szilagyi had run on a slate with Veena Iyer, who received 3,388 votes. BothMaeroff and Szilagyi said they wanted to thank the voters for all their support. Szilagyi, meanwhile, said that she was "not surprised" that the referendum was defeated. She said she wanted to get to work on a new bond proposal. "One that would be more comprehensive that will spell out all phases to come and will include all the [people] and taxpayers from the beginning," said Szilagyi. She and Maeroff expressed regret that their running mate, Iyer, had not been elected. Still, Szilagyi said that her victory as well as Maeroff 's means Edison residents are hungry for a change in the way the board conducts business, and that they are eager to get started. The other candidates in the race were Ralph Errico, who garnered 1,633 votes, and Samip Joshi, with 551 votes.