Voters Guide: What You Need to Know About Tri-Boro School District Budgets

It's election day, which means numbers have been flying around school board meetings like bees and you're wondering just how much your taxes could go up. While nothing is set in stone yet, all three tri-boro school districts (, and ) have adopted their budgets to go before the voters, so we put together this quick Q&A with the information you need to know most when voting for or against your budget today.

Q: How does my school district's budget affect me?

A: Each year, the school district in the borough you live in creates a budget that they feel best accounts for the costs of operating the district. This includes everything from paying the salaries of teachers, to maintenance costs of the buildings, to repairs to athletic fields and more. After each board of education approves its preliminary budget, the board holds public meetings, giving the community the opportunity to voice appreciation or concern over what the school district is proposing. The school district then adopts the budget and presents it to voters on election day, giving them the chance to either approve or reject the budget. It affects the taxpayer because the budget reflects how much each taxpayer will have to pay the following year in taxes.

Q: What is the proposed budget in my borough?

A: Kinnelon-Butler Patch has been following the public budget process and to read about the budgets you will be voting on today in your respective school districts, click on your town here: , and .

Q: When do I vote for school board candidates?

A: You vote for your board of education candidates at the same time as when you vote on your school district's budget. Here are your district's candidates (click on the names to read candidate profiles):

KINNELON
(one-year term)
(three-year term)
write-in candidate 

BUTLER

BLOOMINGDALE

write-in candidate
write-in candidate 

Q: Where do I vote?

A: Voters will be able to head to their respective polling places today. You must vote in your designated place, which was provided when registering to vote. Polling places are as follows:

KINNELON: Kinnelon Municipal Building, 130 Kinnelon Road; Kinnelon Public Library, 132 Kinnelon Road; and the Fayson Lakes Clubhouse.

BUTLER: The Carey Avenue firehouse.

BLOOMINGDALE: Bloomingdale Health Center, 225 Union Avenue; , 29 Captolene Avenue; and Bloomingdale Fire Hall, 97 Hamburg Turnpike.

Q: When do I vote?

A: Polls will be open for an extended time period this year in Kinnelon, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Butler and from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Bloomingdale.