Washington Township Committee appoints task force to make recommendations regarding $22.7 million plan.
By: Mark Moffa
WASHINGTON The Township Committee last week appointed a task force to study the defeated school budget and make recommendations on possible changes.
Committeeman Vince Calcagno, Committeewoman Cathy St. John, PTA member William Lesniak, Washington Township Senior Club President Mary Thederahn, Township Administrator Jack West, Chief Financial Officer Karen Baldino, Auditor Ron Ghrist and Township Attorney Dave Kenny will serve on the task force.
Mr. Calcagno, Ms. St. John, Mr. Lesniak and Ms. Thederahn will be the voting members. Mayor Dave Fried said this week, however, that the PTA may seek to have someone other than Mr. Lesniak serve on the task force.
The mayor also said he had hoped to appoint school board member Florence Gange, but the school board appointed Ms. Gange to serve on its own task force to review the defeated $22.7 million budget for 2002-03.
The township’s task force is the group formally charged with reviewing the school budget, which was defeated by voters April 16. The committee wants the task force members to provide advice on what, if any, changes should be made.
The Township Committee may certify the original budget or may look to reduce it. Its recommendations are due to the school board before May 20.
The task force will have at least one public meeting before May 9, when it must report to the Township Committee. The committee is slated to revise the school budget at its May 16 meeting, which likely will be at Pond Road Middle School.
School board elections were held April 16. Two budget questions appeared on the ballot. First, residents defeated the main budget, which would have raised taxes 18 cents for each $100 of assessed property value. Then, voters rejected an additional $325,200 that would have raised the tax rate another 2 cents.
If both questions were approved, the total tax increase would have been 26 cents a 6-cent increase already was approved by voters last year in a referendum to construct a high school and increase the size of Pond Road Middle School.
Instead, the first question was defeated 774-439. The second question lost 895-428.
If the budget questions had passed, the owner of a house assessed at the township average of $177,000 would have paid $460.20 more in school taxes this year, an increase from $3,327.60 to $3,787.80.