By dave benjamin
Staff Writer
Looking at plans for the Freehold Regional High School District’s 2003-04 budget, Superintendent of Schools James Wasser said the picture doesn’t look too bright in terms of getting additional money to do the kinds of things the district is hoping to do.
Wasser and members of the district’s Board of Education have already started discussing the coming school-year budget that will be presented to voters in the April school election.
"I’ve been going to every faculty meeting to educate the staff and let them know what we’re trying to do with the budget process," Wasser said, indicating concern over how much state aid the district will receive in the coming year.
Initial figures released by the state late last week indicated that the FRHSD will see a small increase in state aid in the coming year. The figures indicate that the district is receiving $38.4 million in state aid this school year and will receive $39 million in the 2003-04 school year.
"One of the concerns of last year," said Wasser, was that "we had to lobby very hard to keep the Technology Distance Learn-ing money in the budget."
Wasser said the money was shuffled back and forth, then placed in the pot with other state aid funds. The end result was a battle to keep it in the district.
"We fought very hard, and we got our regular state aid, plus we got our technology money," said the superintendent. "If that happens again and we lose that money, we will be very hard pressed to replace computers. If the mouse that’s on your desk is gone, you’ll be going back to the keyboard. We will not have the money to upgrade."
Wasser said there are many budgetary items this year that need to be paid for, including roof repairs at several schools; auditorium renovations; and an increase in the number of staff members due to an increase in enrollment in the district.
The superintendent also noted that out of 105,000 voters in the district, only about 13,000 voted in the 2002 budget election. He said people have to exercise their right to vote.
Voters rejected the district’s proposed 2002-03 $126 million budget in April, forcing the governing bodies of the eight sending communities to review the spending plan and to agree on reductions.
Reporting to the board on budget items for the 2003-04 budget, FRHSD Business Administrator Joan Nesenkar Saylor said she had a list of topics which need input from board members.
That will occur over the next few weeks, until March 24, when a public hearing on the 2003-04 budget is held.
A major part of the new budget is curriculum revisions. Saylor said two lists were included in the board memo: a total list of courses that have been recommended by the building or district supervisors to central administration which they would like to create or revise. That list was then divided into two categories: those recommended to be included into the 2003-04 budget; and those that were recommended to the board, but are not being recommended any further.
Saylor indicated that any new courses can create "singletons," courses with only one or very few students, which are hard to schedule, require additional staff and create problems with room use. At this point in time the district doesn’t have the facilities, she noted. These courses are listed, but not recommended, Saylor said.
Board member Diana Cappiello of Englishtown asked when revisions were last made.
She was told by Suzanne Koegler, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, that some courses have not been revised since the late 1980s.
Later in the meeting it was noted that some electronics courses were last revised in the mid-1980s.
Board member Terry Kraft of Howell explained that some elective courses over the years were not being given by design.
"They were destroyed in order to support the state core curriculum endeavor. That’s why elective courses in public high schools have dwindled," he said.
Kraft explained that the core curriculum demands that if a student is not doing well in that curriculum there must be support groups.
"If you do all of that you don’t have room for elective courses," he said. "That’s what happened by design."
Kraft said the board will be looking into ways that certain advanced placement courses will be able to be given, possibly using distance learning or by computer, when not enough students in a particular school would like to take that course.
"That can be done in any area except for lab sciences," he said. "We think we have the infrastructure to support it."
Other items indicated additional positions that will be needed, including a 12-month secretary, a supervisor for health and physical education, four guidance counselors, four assistant principals, two nurses, a three-member child study team and 40 teaching staff members. These are all new positions, noted Saylor.
Some school administrators have asked for additional assistant coaches for certain already approved sports which have large numbers of students involved: Colts Neck cheerleading; Colts Neck and Manalapan swim teams; and Manalapan cross country.
Board member Bonnie Rosenwald of Marlboro said more than one coach is needed because it’s really a safety issue, in the water, in the locker rooms, or if a student gets injured and needs to go to the hospital. Rosenwald said additional help for certain teams is needed, particularly swim teams.
Saylor suggested keeping in place a moratorium on the establishment of new sports teams.
Kraft said he thought he would like to see no more than one new sport at any district school, but noted that budget constraints have to be considered first.
Board member Bernice Hammer of Freehold Borough noted the moratorium and said all of the district’s needs come out of one pot and she was concerned.
"If we can’t afford to educate, can we afford to recreate?" Hammer asked.
Board member Christopher Placitella of Colts Neck said there first has to be a balance between district schools before any new sports are added.
Three pages of requests for capital projects followed. Saylor said roofing projects are a priority.
"We will have nothing under the roofs unless they are fixed," said Saylor. "That’s in every school except Colts Neck."
The business administrator said the cost for roofing projects is about $1 million. It is hoped that $400,000 will come from the state and the balance would be paid for by the district.
Saylor also indicated that stage lighting boards are needed in all schools except for Colts Neck, to replace the ones that are 30 years old and not working. That will cost $20,000 per school.
Renovations to the auditorium at Freehold Township High School will cost more than $250,000, noted the business administrator, depending upon how the work will be done.
Saylor also said that lighting and computer problems need to be fixed in the business labs in several schools.
The business administrator said these are the items that the school administrators are asking to be placed in the budget, but noted, "I will be coming back with slashing and burning of a lot of things."
"My concern is that we do everything possible to get voters out," said Rosenwald. "They have to understand how really important it is to vote."