WESTFIELD — Next week, six candidates, including two incumbents, will be vying for three, three-year terms on the Westfield Board of Education.

Voters also will be asked to answer a ballot question, which, if approved by the general public, would allow the district to raise an additional $1,675,397 in taxes to add new programming and offset certain budget deficits.

This will mark the second time in as many years that voters will be asked to weigh in on the district’s budget through a ballot question. Last year, 4,019 Westfield residents, or roughly 5 percent of the town’s registered voters, turned out to participate in the election, which gave voters the chance to weigh in on the district’s full budget. This year’s ballot will look slightly different than last year’s due to new state-level regulations that returned control of the district’s operational budget back to the board.

And while only the additional funding request will be put to a public vote this time around, district officials say public participation will play a major role in determining the future of the town’s local schools.

In March, the sitting members of the board unanimously approved this year’s operational budget of $131,545,336, which represents a 2.62-percent increase in the local tax levy and an 11-percent increase in state aid. The operational budget, Superintendent Raymond González, Ed.D., explained earlier this year, will allow the district to provide funding for curriculum and professional development, implement certain technological upgrades and add the necessary staff to create two new inhouse special-education programs that will ultimately cut transportation costs by allowing more students to remain within the district.

The $1,675,397 additional funding request, meanwhile, will allow the district to maintain its current staffing levels, add three new elementary- school teaching positions and implement a new K-5 computer science and design program that will be offered to all eligible elementary school students. Other proposed additions include new elective courses like business education, computer science, robotics, food and nutrition science and home systems technology. If the additional funding proposal is approved, the district also will be able to add a new school administrator and provide more competitive salaries for paraprofessionals and classroom aides.

If the funding proposal is voted down, seven teaching positions — three at the elementary-school level, two at the intermediate-school level and two at the high school — will need to be cut from the roster.

“Human resources are the largest part of our expenditure, and unfortunately, that means that certain choices will have to be made if the additional funding request is not approved,” Dr. González said back in March, adding that salaries and benefits account for 78 percent of the district’s annual expenditures.

In the event that cuts do need to be made, Dr. González continued, the district will attempt to prioritize early retirements to minimize the impact on both the teaching staff and the students.

“We truly did not want to have to put any existing staff members on the ballot,” board member Brendan Galligan said shortly after the budget was introduced. “There was just no mathematical way to avoid it.”

The six candidates — incumbents Sonal Patel (this year’s board president) and Leila Morrelli and challengers Lindsay Bezalel, Brad Schaeffer, Mark Shore and Julie Steinberg — had the opportunity to weigh in on the budget and other pertinent topics during a public online forum held by the Westfield Parent Teacher Council last month.

Profiles of each of the candidates can be found on page 5 of this week’s edition of The Westfield Leader.

Board member Sahar Aziz, a Rutgers University law professor who is currently the subject of a pending complaint that was levied against her by a fellow board member with the state’s School Ethics Commission for allegedly failing to adhere to board policies, announced earlier this year that she would not seek re-election.

In addition to managing the day-today tasks of overseeing the district, this year’s winners will be tasked with drafting a multi-million-dollar bond referendum that will be put to the voters in 2025. The referendum is expected to address numerous existing challenges throughout the district, including full-day kindergarten, curriculum enhancements, personnel shortages and building upgrades and repairs.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16. Mail-in ballots have already been sent out.

For a list of polling locations, visit https://unioncountyvotes.com/polling- places-for-the-westfield-annualschool- board-election/.