Pennsauken voters defeat budget; Haddonfield’s approved

In Pennsauken, school board candidate Mike Stargell campaigned on bringing down the district's administrative costs.

And as unofficial results came in Tuesday night, Stargell saw the budget defeated by voters, while he and his running mate, Kathy Andrews-Williams, cruised to victory, along with incumbent Matthew McDevitt.

"I think the budget had a lot to do with the climate of the election," said Stargell, a former school board member and a basketball coach at Camden High School.

In districts across Camden County, candidates consistently found their positions on the tax levy defining their campaigns. Many districts sought to raise school tax levies to help cover Gov. Christie's cuts in state education aid, raising interest in school elections.

In Gloucester Township, Mark Schmitz, who won an open seat on the Black Horse Pike Regional school board, pushed for a balance between preserving programs and keeping the tax levy down.

He supported the district's budget, which also passed.

"The cuts go across the board," he said of the district's budget. "There was some push-back, but it's happening everywhere. If we kept the freshman sports teams, who were they going to play?"

In Haddonfield, longtime board members F. Joseph Ehrhardt, Steven Weinstein and Cheryl Laney won re-election.

David Raymond, one of the two challengers for the incumbents' seats, thought the likelihood of leaner years ahead for the affluent school district required new perspective.

But the district's budget passed easily, and Raymond opined Tuesday night residents were comfortable with how the district was being run.

"It very rarely happens the budget is defeated," he said. "With the board members, the municipality get used to the name and the faces."

In Pennsauken, the question facing the newly elected board members is what exactly they will be working with financially next school year now that their budget is in the hands of the township.

McDevitt, who campaigned in support of the budget, said he wasn't at all surprised it was defeated.

"The taxpayers are being faced with an impossible situation," he said. "We'll just try and find out what [the township] wants in terms of a reduction."

Contact staff writer James Osborne at 856-779-3876 or jaosborne@phillynews.com.