Jamesburg school district asks residents for help on researching grant opportunities.
By: Rebecca Tokarz
JAMESBURG The school district is looking for some help from the public.
The district wants to form committees to research grant opportunities, as well as inform the school and outside community of upcoming events.
"We formed a Goals Committee last year and identified all areas that we wanted to work on and this was one of them. We want to improve communication. We already have strong communication in the schools, but we want to improve it with the public. We know that grant money is out there, but we need go out there are get it," said Superintendent of Schools Shirley Bzdewka. "We’re hoping to continue these in the future, this isn’t just a one-time thing."
So far, the district has eight interested parents and is in the process of setting up an organizational meeting. No meeting date has been set, but they will be in the evening.
As part of the district Publicity Committee, members would work to inform the media and the school community about upcoming events, according to Ms. Bzdewka.
Another committee would work with the public to gain input on how the district is doing and what could be improved as far as communication.
Members of the Grants Committee would be responsible for looking for grants, and establishing a timeline for the grant in case some parts of it need to be submitted earlier than others, allowing district officials to spend more time preparing the grant, Ms. Bzdewka said.
"That leaves more time for the professionals to write the grant," she said.
Ms. Bzdewka said the district wants to apply for additional grants because of recent state aid freezes.
"It will help subsidize money from the state. When funding is flat, that’s a problem because costs continue to go up," she said.
This year, the district is operating under a $10.24 million spending plan, which called for the cancellation of after-school sports programs and elimination of a librarian position shared by the Grace M. Breckwedel and John F. Kennedy schools.
In the past two years, the district’s tax rate has increased 73 cents, to $2.62 per $100 of assessed valuation, which means the homeowner of a house assessed at the borough average of $123,000 is paying $3,222 in school taxes.
State aid figures for the 2003-04 school budget increased to $3.55 million, up $59,790 from 2002-03. While state aid went up, federal and other aids and revenue for the current year, excluding the tax levy, is $445,135, a 12.5 percent decrease from last year’s $511,121.
The grant writing portion will be left up to the administration, residents can help by looking for grants and don’t need to have any experience.
"More people we can get with expertise, that’s great. But we won’t turn people away. It takes a great deal of time to research grant opportunities and maintain deadlines. You can have all of the elements for the grant, but if it’s not on time, you’re eliminated," Ms. Bzdewka said. "They have a personal feel for the community. There are certain pieces of a grant that require documentation or data that you have to have achieved to get the funding, but sometimes you also need to show why you need the grant or how the school community would benefit from that."
That type of proof could be provided by parents because they know what the district should provide, Ms. Bzdewka said.
For additional information on the committees, contact the Board of Education office at (732) 521-0303.
To join a committee, contact the board office or John F. Kennedy School at (732) 521-0400.