Board agrees to change bond referendum date
Date change made amid pressure over previous date on Rosh Hashana
BY CHRIS GAETANO Staff Writer
Responding to a tidal wave of pressure and protest from the religious community, the Edison Board of Education has moved the date of a $57 million bond referendum from Sept. 30 to Dec. 9, due to the September date coinciding with the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashana.

The unanimous vote to change the date took place during a meeting held Aug. 21 at Edison High School.

During the vote, board President David Dickinson stated that there were valid reasons why the board originally chose the Sept. 30 date, but that in response to "concerns raised by the community," the board felt it would be best to change the date.

"I can say that the board will admit when it makes mistakes and try to correct them, which is what we're doing here," Dickinson said before casting his support for the measure that would change the vote's date to December. He remarked that the board had not known that the date would have provoked such a strong reaction.

He also pointed out that the Sept. 30 date was set by the state as one of four dates that a special election can be held by a school district.

The other dates are the second Tuesday in December, which is now the new referendum date, the fourth Tuesday in January and the second Tuesday in March.

The four dates were set in the 2001 legislation that originally allowed school districts to hold special elections, but unlike the legislation that created regular April votes, it did not include a provision allowing the state to change special election dates in the event that they coincide with a religious holiday.

Dickinson concluded his remarks by urging the Legislature to correct the omission of such a provision, so that this sort of controversy won't happen again.

"Hopefully, with all that went on, one good thing will come from this: The Legislature will pass some legislation that will allow someone in Trenton the ability to fix these issues when they arise, because as it became apparent when the state scheduled Sept. 30, it didn't seem like anyone in a position of authority had the [ability to change the date]," said Dickinson.

The change in the vote's date concludes a controversy that began toward the end of last month and seemed to grow exponentially by the day.

In July the Board of Education voted to place on the ballot, for Sept. 30, a $57 million bond measure, intended to pay for expansions to three elementary schools and the construction of an entirely new school. The ballot question would be identical to the one that voters rejected in April of last year, 3,983 to 3,644, over concerns about costs and the lack of public involvement.

During the July meeting, the school board expressed a desire to have the referendum pass and the construction begin as soon as possible, which was why they chose the September date over the December one. Speed was also cited as the reason why no changes were made to the plan itself, since alterations would mean extra time being added to the project because of bureaucratic requirements.

Around the beginning of August, however, Jewish leaders from across the county began to loudly protest the date of the referendum, because it fell on the holiday of Rosh Hashana, classified as a day of rest, which would preclude the members of the Jewish community from taking part in the vote that day.

The district made note that people could send in absentee ballots in place of going out to vote, and also that delaying the referendum to December represented an unacceptable delay in the project, with school leaders pointing out that overcrowding is becoming a serious problem in Edison.

This was not viewed as satisfactory by religious leaders, however, who said that the turnout for absentee ballots is almost always lower, and that it was beside the point anyway, because the issue was that the district chose to have the referendum on Rosh Hashana.

Many, including Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg, an Edison resident who was actively involved in the campaign to change the referendum date, said that putting a referendum on a major Christian holiday, such as Christmas, would have been unthinkable, regardless of whether absentee ballots would be available, and so wondered why Rosh Hashana had not been given the same consideration.

When asked about the referendum's date change, Rabbi Rosenberg said he is happy that it's over, and is grateful to the many people and organizations that rallied behind the issue, but also expressed frustration that it had to have been an issue at all.

"I'm happy it's over; however, it is beyond my understanding why this is the second time that I have had to go to battle with the Board of Education in Edison over issues dealing with Rosh Hashana," said Rosenberg, who added that a few years ago, a similar campaign needed to be waged over the school holding classes on Rosh Hashana.

Rosenberg also voiced suspicions that the board didn't know what it was doing when it set the date of Sept. 30. He said he had warned the school board that if it went with that date, it would draw a controversy. He said he believes that the board relented due to political reasons, noting that the Orthodox Jewish community would have defeated the referendum, even with absentee ballots, and that ill will would have reverberated into the April school board elections if the referendum had taken place on Rosh Hashana.

"They thought they could pull it over and the reaction would be mute … . [But eventually] they knew the measure would go down in flames, and they would not get re-elected," said Rosenberg.

The issue escalated as August went on. Other religious leaders, along with state Sen. Barbara Buono (D-18th District) became involved in urging the district to change the referendum date, with Buono also arranging a meeting between Gov. Jon Corzine and local Jewish leaders over the matter to see if the governor would intervene.

Buono drafted legislation that is set to be introduced in the Senate when the Legislature reconvenes, which will allow the state to change special election dates in the event that they coincide with a religious holiday.

According to board member William Van Pelt, acting Superintendent John Dimuzio wrote to the state Department of Education, asking for permission to change the referendum's date to a day earlier or later. When no response from the state came, it was decided that the district should change the date.

"Mr. Dimuzio was not just sitting back throwing the blame on the state. He did take action and should be complimented," Van Pelt said during the meeting after casting his yes vote.

During the meeting's public portion, Josh Pruzansky, director of Agudath Israel of New Jersey, thanked the board for changing the referendum's date and said he looked forward to working with the Edison school district on future endeavors.

Schools Business Administrator Daniel Michaud does not anticipate additional bureaucratic costs with the change in dates, since they "nipped it in the bud." He also said that an upside to the change in the referendum's date would be that the district now would have additional time to get the word about the referendum out to the public and convince residents of its necessity.

Dickinson said he was simply relieved that the issue was resolved.

"Hopefully, we will not have any holidays on Dec. 9 that I know of," said Dickinson.