From The Press of Atlantic City — Two elected officials objected Wednesday to the way their fellow committee members handled re-examining the Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School District budget that voters rejected two weeks earlier.

The Mullica Township Committee voted 3-2 to pass the Greater Egg budget Tuesday, the night after the Hamilton Township Committee did so unanimously. Voters in those townships rejected paying the $24.7 million in taxes school officials said they need for the upcoming school year. Greater Egg’s taxing districts also include Egg Harbor City and Galloway Township, where residents approved the budget.

Whenever voters defeat a school budget, the elected municipal officials from the taxing districts review the budget and make any cost-cutting recommendations before voting on it. If a local governing body votes down the budget, the county superintendent of schools reviews it before sending it to the state Department of Education.

Mullica Committeemen Mike St. Amour and Bernie Graebener cast the votes against the resolution. They said the document had been authored before the meeting, where Graebener suggested shaving the $67.6 million budget by implementing furloughs among administrative staff during the summer.

“It seems as if the three of them already had made up their minds,” St. Amour said of the Republican committee members. “(They) basically told the voters, ‘Don’t bother to come up and vote.’”

Outgoing Mayor Janet Forman said she, Republican Committeewoman Kathy Chasey and Committeeman William Kennedy acted on the advice of municipal CFO Dawn Sollenwerk, who had attended a budget meeting April 28 among school and local officials.

“(The decision) had nothing to do with numbers of voters,” Forman said, referring to the typically low turnout for school elections. “It was based on sound government.”

Implementing the suggestion to impose furloughs would have meant renegotiating contracts, a process that would take more time than the two weeks remaining until May 19, the deadline for the final school budget, according to Chasey and Forman.

That’s when Galloway Township Mayor Tom Bassford said he anticipates voting on the matter.

Egg Harbor City Council will discuss it in a special session scheduled to start at 4 p.m. today, according to Councilman Jack Peterson. Peterson said he did not anticipate making changes to the budget.

Chasey is seeking re-election in November on a slate with Bruce Crow. If victorious, Crow would replace Forman. Democrats Susan Polk and Anthony Gabris are challenging Crow and Chasey.

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