A former schoolteacher hopes to win a seat on the West Orange School Board and help trim a budget he calls "extremely high."

Adam Kraemer is one of three candidates seeking the seats being vacated by Larry Feigenbaum and Felicia Garnes, whose two-year terms conclude this spring.

If Kraemer wins the April 17 election, it would make him the only Jew on the school board, he said.

Kraemer, who works in finance for Aerosoles shoe company in Edison, has a master of arts degree in teaching from Columbia University's Teachers College in New York City and a master of education degree in social studies.

His children — triplets who turn four years old on school board election day — aren't in the public school system yet. But that's beside the point, he said.

"My kids will start in the public schools in the fall of 2008," Kraemer said. "I've always been interested in education. I was a teacher for five years at a private school in Newark and then a year at Livingston High School. My two master's degrees are in teaching."

In addition to electing school board members, voters are being asked to approve a 7 percent increase of the district's $102 million line item, general fund budget (which amounts to a $122 million operating budget, said Kraemer, when funding streams not part of the voted budget are factored in). The increase would amount to about $379 more for the average homeowner, said Kraemer, at a time when enrollment is down about 1 percent.

"It's not just salaries, it's benefits," Kraemer said. "Ten or 12 percent or about $12 million is going for health care for employees. I don't begrudge teachers or want to be unfair to teachers — they deserve compensation and respect — but to have generous benefits, full medical, dental, and eye care.

"I don't want to bash teachers, but I think there has to be some balance between what the taxpayers can afford and adequate compensation. This is not only a problem for West Orange but for the whole state."

Kraemer is hoping to draw votes from Orthodox and other Jews who send their children to private schools. With a contentious budget, he said, he hopes to appeal to voters feeling cash-strapped and who are tired of paying for services they're not using.

"The budget increase is particularly unfair to the people who daven at Orthodox shuls," Kraemer said. "These people pay to send their children to [private day schools]. How much more can these people be asked to pay before they can't afford to live here?"

West Orange superintendent of schools Jerry Tarnoff has said the budget reflects the lowest increase the district could support and still provide students with a quality education. It does not provide funds for new positions and for only minimal capital improvements, he said. Additionally many of the district's costs are fixed by contractual obligations, such as teachers' salaries and benefits.

But the district is still spending nearly $19,000 per student and more than $40,000 per special-needs student, Kraemer said.

"That's extremely high per student," he said in a phone interview with NJ Jewish News from his West Orange home. "I'm not this rabid, tax-cutting guy. That's not what I'm about; but if we don't get control in a few years, the economics will drive people out. It has to change."

Kraemer is facing Megan Brill, co-owner of a pest control company in West Orange, and Cathy Tague, who works for a real estate franchising company. Kraemer's chances could hinge on voter turnout. Historically only 8 percent of the town's registered voters cast a ballot in the school elections. Those who do show up tend to be people involved in the schools — PTO members, teachers, and other active parents — who generally vote for the budget, he said. "That's not a cross-segment of the community."

Kraemer said he hopes his message appeals to beleaguered taxpayers. He estimated the average homeowner spends about 10 percent, or $10,000, on property taxes, with about 6 percent going to the schools.

Kraemer peppers his speech with evidence of his Jewish background — discussing how his view of education follows Maimonides' principles of education toward self-reliance. "As a Jew it's a moral imperative to make sure everybody has the opportunity to be educated," he said.

He and his wife, Ruth, are members of Congregation B'nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, where his children attend preschool. Ruth Kraemer was born in Morocco and grew up in Israel.

He continued, "We have to show a little sechel [intelligence] in terms of how we save some money. We can do it. I'm not going to shortchange my child, any child, a quality education. We could share some services with other communities to save money on maintenance, bus service…."

Kraemer also noted having a private school population helps the district too."You have additional taxpayers funding the schools who aren't using the services," he said. "If I win this, it's going to be challenging. Having schools that work for everyone is going to take a balancing act."