4% School Tax Hike Overwhelmingly Approved By WNY Voters

In what can be seen as an unusual circumstance for voters not only in West New York, but throughout the entire state of New Jersey, tonight’s vote-by-mail only elections for school board trustees and school tax levies apparently went off without a hitch all across the Garden State.  The only drawback?  The number of registered voters, at least in Hudson County, who participated in the three Board of Education elections, was exceedingly low according to the Hudson County Clerk’s Office, which had to have completed mail-in-ballots in its possession by 8 p.m.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced Governor Phil Murphy to push back the school board elections from April until today, with vote-by-mail replacing in-person voting at polling locations.

In West New York, the $18,636,109 increase in the school tax levy, up by 4 percent, was overwhelmingly approved.  The referendum was adopted with approximately 78 percent of the vote.  Barely more than 1.000 mail-in-ballots were returned by registered voters in the town.

As for the other two towns in Hudson County which held Board of Education elections on Tuesday, there were few surprises.  North Bergen’s three incumbent trustees all ran without opposition.  As for the school referendum, it was soundly defeated.

In Weehawken, all three of the candidates on the ballot ran unopposed.  Weehawken’s two, school referendum questions were easily approved.