Board welcoming ideas and comments
from public as spending plan develops
By:Krzysztof Scibiorski
Next year’s school budget is slowly coming into place and the Board of Education is welcoming public input about its shape.
During Monday night’s meeting, board and Finance Committee member Steven Sloan reported on the efforts to receive public input about the budget for the 2002-03 school year.
The public has until the beginning of December to present suggestions and concerns about next year’s budget, according to Mr. Sloan. Residents also will be able to make comments during the upcoming board meetings, through a link on the district’s Web site www.hillsborough.k12.nj, or by calling or writing the superintendent’s office.
"The board and the administration can’t read the minds of the public concerning the budget. It’s very important that as many people as possible get involved in the budgetary process," Mr. Sloan said.
Getting off to a quick start, several budget questions and suggestions were presented Monday.
Sandy Sang, a mother of an Auten Road School second-grader, praised the elementary school’s gifted and talented program called REACH.
"My daughter excels and loves the REACH program. It really enriches her educational experience at the school," Ms. Sang said. She added that it would be beneficial if teachers not involved in the program were trained in spotting high-achieving students in their classes.
Ms. Sang said her daughter started attending district schools in first grade and was not placed in the REACH program because she was a transfer student. Ms. Sang felt that teachers can mistake a bright, REACH-able child, for a distracted and disruptive one if they do not receive proper training.
Virginia Gittelman, assistant superintendent, reassured Ms. Sang about the REACH program’s future.
"Let me assure you that REACH is alive and kicking, all transfer students are assessed in the spring for consideration for the program in the following year," Ms. Gittelman said.
Board member Joan Sheridan expressed her hope that the delayed introduction of the high school and middle school boys and girls volleyball programs would be considered in next year’s budget.
Mr. Sloan said the inputs of the public, the board members, teachers and administrators are all considered during the final preparation of the school’s budget.
"The Finance Committee meets for a whole Saturday in January and goes through the administration’s proposed budget, line by line, and takes the public’s input into consideration when making the final decisions," he said.
Mr. Sloan did not want to speculate about the possible size of next year’s budget but said "if the construction at the middle school and Auten Road stay, as they now are, on schedule, I am very optimistic about next year’s budget."