UPDATED: 1 contested school board race April 16

Byram Township voters will decide one contested school board race in the April 16 election.

James McBain and Debbie Rosario are running for a seat with a one-year term.

McBain recently was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Board of Education. He previously was the board’s vice president, but he came in fourth among the candidates running for three seats in November. He had served one term.

Rosario is a political science student. She has been a preschool and day-care teacher.

Incumbents Courtny Gallagher, the board’s vice president, and Kristy McFarlane are running for re-election to two seats with three-year terms. Gallagher has served one term and McFarlane has served two.

The board approved a resolution at its Jan. 17 meeting to move the election to April.

Fredon and Montague, which previously held school board elections in April, have moved them to November.

Byram voters also will accept or reject a proposed additional tax increase of about $1.7 million that officials say is needed to maintain the school district’s programming and restore four teaching positions to its budget.

That increase would mean that the owner of a home assessed at $100,000 would pay an extra $166.80 this year. The owner of the average township home, which is assessed at $255,764, would pay $426.48 more.

The board proposed budget for 2024-25 includes a tax levy increase of 2.89 percent. Voters do not have a say on the district budget.

In a presentation at the March 6 school board meeting, officials said the district’s state aid was reduced by a total of $1.4 million since 2020. Nineteen staff positions have been cut since the 2017-18 school year.

State aid is expected to increase $155,882 for the 2024-25 school year.

The officials pointed out that Byram spends the smallest amount per pupil of all school districts in Sussex County. That amount is well below the state average of $27,059 per pupil.