As expected, the Shrewsbury Board of Education voted to move its school board elections to November, a decision that will also allow the board to keep its school budget off the ballot if it falls within the state’s mandated 2 percent increase cap.

Shrewsbury Councilman Peter Meyer made the announcement during the borough’s council meeting Monday night. The election move was approved at the board’s most recent meeting, he said.

Shrewsbury is just one of several districts to have approved the election move or thrown their support behind it joining Little Silver, Red Bank Regional High School, and Red Bank. The latter will have a public meeting to discuss the election issue tonight at 7 p.m., though board President Ann Roseman said the board will likely approve the move.

Though some officials have worried that the election move would turn what has always been a non-partisan election into one that includes party slates and political posturing, the benefit of the move is just too great, they feel. Not only will the election move to November help school districts save some money by piggybacking onto municipal elections, but Gov. Chris Christie’s pledge to keep acceptable school budgets off of the ballot is being seen as the most significant bonus to Okaying the swap.

Some school districts, most notably Red Bank Regional, have struggled to see their budgets pass, even when they’ve made numerous cuts to programs and extra curricular activities to help stay under the cap. In addition to approving the move itself, Red Bank Regional also needed approval from its three sending districts: Red Bank, Little Silver, and Shrewsbury.

There’s been little time for debate of the issue as school districts are required to file their petitions to move elections to November with the county clerk’s office this month.