Motion to pay for $285,000 for furniture
with referendum funds approved Monday
By:Krzysztof Scibiorski
The Board of Education may approve a pared-down $81 million school budget proposal next week, after cutting funds for five courtesy bus routes and several new staff positions Monday night.
The 2002-03 budget is $1 million less than the plan that had been originally presented to the school board by Schools Superintendent Robert Gulick. The board has approved $1,033,000 in operational expenses cuts from the budget so far, including $250,000 in legal expense funds previously eliminated from the budget on March 11.
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School budget includes new athletic field A $400,000 athletic field will be part of the district’s budget which will face voters on April 16. The proposal for a "synthetic athletic field" being placed on the current football field has raised much discussion among the board and public. The synthetic field would allow for much greater utilization of the field at the high school stadium, which is currently used about 13 times in a school year, the board said. Currently all of the high school’s home football games, some marching band events and individual soccer, lacrosse and field hockey games are held on the field. But installation of the synthetic surface could allow the field to be used every day by school and community organizations, according to Schools Superintendent Robert Gulick. According to an informational sheet released by the district, the installation of the new surface would result in a yearly savings of $13,500 in maintenance of the current varsity football field. Dr. Gulick said that similar surfaces are in use in several locations in the state, including the New York Giants practice bubble at the Meadowlands complex in East Rutherford. "This is a synthetic grass surface, and is clearly the way that athletic fields will be going to in the future," said Dr. Gulick. Representatives from local sports organizations have supported the idea of installing the new field, saying that the current facilities are vulnerable to damage and pose a safety hazard to the players. Board President Edward Plaskon asked that the board put the field proposal as a separate question in the April 16 budget vote but received no support from fellow board members. "I am looking at the rate of return on this field, and am not sure that it’s the right thing to do this year," Mr. Plaskon said. |
The reduced budget of $81,057,000 represents a 6.4 percent spending increase over the current $75,891,320 budget.
If the budget is approved without further changes it would result in a school tax rate of $1.768 per $100 of assessed value. This is a decrease of almost 4.4 percent on the current $1.849 tax rate, but due to higher property value assessments, most homeowners will likely see a tax increase. Under the current proposal, a home assessed at $300,000 would pay $5,304 in 2002-2003 school taxes.
The board deleted $285,000 in the operating budget that had been earmarked to buy new furniture for the additions at Auten Road School and the high school. The furniture will now be paid for with unused bond referendum funds.
Taxpayers will also pay about $500,000 less this budget year due to other changes approved Monday night. Five proposed new courtesy bus routes proposed by Dr. Gulick at a cost of $101,183, were among the cuts approved by the board.
Some proposed additional staff positions, including a vice-principal at the Hillsborough Elementary School and a music teacher at Auten Road School, have been reduced to half-time or eliminated. The district will also do without a Network Manager a $70,000 position proposed in the original budget.
A savings of $182,729 will be achieved by financing the purchase of an assortment of technical equipment over a two-year period, instead of paying for it all at once in the 2002-2003 operations budget. The items covered by the program includes almost 200 computers and printers to be used by various grade levels, audio-visual equipment and network expansion.
Instead of making a lump payment of more than $300,000 for the electronic equipment from the 2002-03 budget, the district will spread the payment over two budgets, Mr. Venanzi said. The board will go out to take bids from financial companies to finance the transaction, he said.
"The board was seeking to minimize the tax impact during this year, and hoping for something better for next year," Mr. Venanzi said.
"We’ve made some cuts, and we’ll be paying for the rest over two years," Dr. Gulick said. "But all of the equipment will be available to our students this year."
The board will meet on Monday, March 25 to hear public comment and vote on approving the final version of the 2002-2003 budget. Voters will have their say in the matter in the April 16 elections.