UFRSD voters to decide
on double-digit tax hike
Contested race in U.F., uncontested race for Allentown board seat
By jane meggitt
Staff Writer
Voters in Allentown and Upper Freehold will be asked to approve a school district budget that calls for double-digit tax increases in both communities.
Upper Freehold Regional School District’s total general fund budget is $21,546,308, which includes a tax levy of $11,656,969, 54 percent of the budget.
The projected school taxes are $2.26 per $100 of assessed property value for Allentown, an increase of 14 cents or a 6.7 percent over last year. For a home assessed at $150,000, a resident will pay another $210 a year in school taxes if the budget passes.
Upper Freehold residents can expect an increase of 13 cents, or 6.9 percent, which would bring the tax rate to $2.06 per $100 of assessed property value. A resident with a home assessed at $240,000 would pay an additional $312 in school taxes.
Voters will also be asked to choose among a field of candidates to fill the empty seats on the school board.
In Upper Freehold, four candidates, including two incumbents, will vie for two open seats, while one candidate is running unopposed for the lone open Allentown seat.
Upper Freehold
Shari Burke, 44, 6 Wingate Court, has served on the school board for the past nine years. She is employed as a teacher’s assistant by the Mercer County Special Services Board. She has two children in the school district.
For Burke, "the projected growth in our school district is and will continue to be a key issue, now and in the future. Having the proper student-to-teacher ratio in our classrooms will be critical to maintaining the high educational standards we have set for our neighborhood school system.
"The costs of any expansion planned for our schools is not taken lightly," she added. "I realize there is a balance between the costs of education and the fixed incomes of our senior citizens. Improvements are needed to maintain and advance the current standards that will make our children competitive in their future pursuit of career options. Cuts to the recommended budget would have a negative impact on the educational advantages we have been able to offer students who have gone before them."
In Burke’s opinion, the technology plan for the schools is the crowning achievement of the time she has spent on the board.
"Providing our students with the critical thinking skills and the expertise to process ideas with the most up-to-date technology will remain one of my key objectives in serving my community as a board member," she said.
Howard Krieger, 56, 17 Stacey Drive, has lived in the township for 13 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree from City College of New York, a master’s in business administration from Long Island University, New York, and owns three Friendly’s restaurants. He has two children and four grandchildren, two of whom attend township schools. He has not previously held political office.
For Krieger, taxes are the main issue facing township residents.
"The quality of the schools is terrific," he said, "but every time you turn around, there’s a tax increase. Two-thirds of our taxes go to the schools. It needs to be run like a business. There’s not a lot of business experience on the [current] school board."
Krieger cited his own 30 years’ experience in the business world as a plus, and said he decided to run for the board "because I thought it was time."
Incumbent Betty Jane Pepe, 48, 15 Long Acre Drive, is seeking her third term on the board.
She works as a clerk for the U.S. Postal Service in Hightstown and is a graduate of Moore High School, Staten Island, N.Y. She lives in the township with her husband, Joseph, and two children, who are Allentown High School graduates.
Pepe said her focus is finances and the budget. "There’s never enough money in it," she said. "It’s a major problem."
Pepe said she is concerned that the school is out of space, even with the addition to the high school. "There’s no land to build on. The campus is built out. [Superintendent] Robert Connelly is looking for a new primary school. No matter how you cut it, there’s going to be a building project. It will have an impact on taxes."
Since there are few ratables in Upper Freehold, she said she would like to explore the possibility of corporate sponsorships for the school, and/or an educational foundation.
"We’re in an affluent area. A lot of people work for major corporations. We should try to tap into grant money," she said.
Pepe considers the referendum for the building project to be the major achievement of her tenure.
"We worked hard on that," she said. "I’ve learned that knowledge comes with experience. As an incumbent, the board needs people with experience."
Pepe also said she "wasn’t happy with the SAT scores. I would like the SAT prep course back in the school."
Frank Skube, 48, 5 Stacey Drive, has lived in the township for five years. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania, a master’s degree in business administration from Rider University, Lawrenceville, and is the director of finance at Dow Jones Reuters Business Interactive, South Brunswick.
His son Michael is a junior at Allentown High School and his daughter Chelsea is a third-grader at Upper Freehold Regional Elementary School.
Skube served on the school board for one month in 2002 as a replacement for John Dawkins.
The impact of growth on the schools is Skube’s top priority. He noted that the school has gone through its five-year plan, with the building addition at Allentown High School. He pointed out new housing developments coming before the Planning Board, such as the proposed 345 houses at Indian Run, which is on that board’s agenda for tonight’s meeting.
"What kind of impact will that have?" he asked. "Once we build schools, what happens due to [factors] such as farmland preservation, and a declining population? There’s a direct impact on the taxpayer."
He added, "There are no ratables here and, as a resident of Upper Freehold, I don’t want any hotels or [similar] things out here."
Skube said he finds the school system to be "excellent" but is concerned that programs will be cut if the budget is not passed.
Allentown
Robert C. Cheff, 34, 35 Sandburg Drive, holds a bachelor’s degree from Rider University, Lawrenceville, and is employed as a vice president for application development at J.P. Morgan Chase.
Cheff also served four years in the U.S. Army.
He lives in the borough with his wife, Tanya, and three children, two of whom are currently enrolled in the school system.
Cheff said he feels that "the most important issue the school district is currently facing is the growth in the student population. This will have a major impact on our community in the near future."
He also noted that planning and building another school must be accomplished by the 2005-06 school year.
"The current board has to look for land, and deal with that. There’s no time to waste. It takes three years to get a school built," he said.
Cheff said he also wants to ensure that the goals and objectives set in the district’s five-year plan are carried out.
"A lot of effort by all stakeholders went into the compilation of that document, and I see it as the board’s responsibility to make sure that the administration is given the guidance and resources to fulfill the community’s demands for nothing short of excellence for our children."
Cheff has a background in accounting and wants to "make sure we are spending prudently and getting value for what we spend. To this end, I want to ensure that we are appropriately charging our sending district as accurately as possible. We should never again be caught in a situation where today’s taxpayers are burdened to pay for money spent in previous years, due to lack of good auditing habits."