Extra school aid boosts Roosevelt By bob fleming T
School administrators and municipal officials welcomed the news as a positive step in the process of bringing substantial tax relief to Roosevelt residents who shoulder one of the highest school tax rates in the state.
Dr. Dale Weinbach, chief school administrator for the Roosevelt Public School, told the Examiner she was notified of the additional state aid in a memo dated March 27 from Monmouth County Superintendent of Schools Michael Maddaluna.
"The letter came as quite a surprise, just when we thought there would be no additional aid for next year," Weinbach said. "We were advised to hold an emergency Board of Education meeting to accept the state aid increase and incorporate it in our budget for next year."
According to Weinbach, the board had already adopted the 2000-01 school year budget at a public hearing on March 23. In order to receive the additional funds and have them applied to the budget, the board called an emergency meeting on March 29 and approved the receipt of the extra state aid.
"The board was only too happy to convene in emergency session to receive more money," Weinbach said. "It was just under the wire."
Based on the budget adopted by the board on March 23, the school tax rate was estimated to decrease by 14 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation next year. With the receipt of the additional state aid, the tax rate is expected to drop a total of 32 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation.
For a home assessed at $100,000 in the borough, the estimated tax cut will amount to $320.
According to Karen Minutolo, the district’s business administrator and board secretary, school administrators and board members decided to appropriate $63,775 of the $93,775 increased state aid directly to offset the school tax levy for the 2000-01 school year. The remaining $30,000 was placed in the district’s unreserved fund to offset school taxes for the next fiscal year, she said.
"This is a one-time additional appropriation with no guarantee we will receive anything like it next year," Minutolo said. "That’s why we decided to reserve a portion to offset school taxes the following year."
Mayor Michael B. Hamilton told the Examiner the additional school aid was the result of school and municipal officials working directly with their county and state elected officials, including Assemblyman Joseph Malone, to obtain increased funding for the Roosevelt Public School.
"We enlisted the support of Assemblyman Malone, who pledged to work on our behalf with the state Department of Education to address our funding concerns," Hamilton said. "I’m glad to report we’re finally on the way due to his efforts and those of all the residents who lobbied for our cause for our fair share of school aid."
Hamilton and school officials have maintained that Roosevelt’s classification as a wealthy school district by the state Department of Education is inaccurate and unfair.
"The irony is that we are classified in a wealthy District Factor Grouping (DFG) when nothing can be further from the truth," Weinbach said. "We’ve been told that if we were properly classified, we would have received an additional $300,000 in school aid, rather than the (additional) $93,775."
Weinbach said the school district will continue to work with Malone and other state officials to have Roosevelt’s DFG changed to accurately reflect the socio-economic status of the community and to provide for more equitable funding through school aid.
"Preserving the special school in Roosevelt has become a crusade for many residents and a cause I have come to truly appreciate," Malone told the Examiner. "Unfortunately, bureaucracy moves rather slowly and it takes time to address situations like this one, but it’s never over until it’s over."
Malone, who has been meeting with Roosevelt officials for nearly six months and has been presenting their case in Trenton, said residents must continue to advocate their position for a change in the DFG. The change may require special legislation to accomplish, he said.