A lot to swallow

Brick Township residents who actually make it to the polls for the April 17 school elections will be spending more time than usual inside the voting both mulling over which buttons to push.

And chances are, there will be a lot of head-scratching while they make their choices.

That's because this year, the Board of Education is serving up a smorgasbord of confusing options.

No simple election this year, just picking the school board members for the next three years and voting on the amount to be raised by taxation.

Voters will also have to make a decision on whether to approve three separate questions that could have a massive impact on the school district's future if the questions go down.

The questions are necessary because of the state Department of Education's 4 percent cap on the amount to be raised by taxation. School officials said they had no choice but to offer the questions as another way to fund much-needed items.

The first question asks voters to spend another $800,000 to maintain the district's current middle school and high school athletic and extracurricular activities.

The second question deals with an additional $275,000 for the expansion and enhancement of each school's safety, security and communications systems.

The third question asks if voters will approve another $300,000 for maintaining the district's nonhazardous K-12 courtesy busing.

School officials have also thrown a possible $4 million bond referendum into the mix, that would allow the district to bond for money to replace the roofs at every school. The referendum question would not impact this year's budget.

That's an awful lot for voters to swallow in one election.

And what's more disturbing is that Seidenberger and school board members haven't provided much in the way of details.

Residents in sports-crazy Brick deserve to know what sports programs and extracurricular activities will be cut if the question is defeated.

They deserve to know whether their children will be the ones who have to walk to school instead of ride a bus. They need to know why the school's security, safety and communications systems need an upgrade. And they need to know it before the public hearing on the budget.

A woefully small number of voters usually make it to the polls for school board elections. And the lack of information about this year's multitude of choices will probably make things even worse than usual.

Seidenberger and school board members will make only two presentations on the budget: one at the March 27 Township Council meeting and one before the public hearing on the budget on March 29.

They would be wise to take their show on the road to a few more places before the election and provide more information. Granted, it might be an exercise in futility, but at least voters would have what they need to make an informed choice.