Jamesburg school budget approved

Voters ok tax cut

By: Stephanie Brown
   JAMESBURG — Low voter turnout in Tuesday’s school election did not hurt the school district’s proposed $10.87 million budget for 2006-2007, which was approved overwhelmingly, 171-63.
   Less than 9 percent of registered voters in the borough turned out to vote on the spending plan, which calls for a tax reduction of 4 cents, to $2.72 per $100 of assessed property value. Under that rate, the owner of a house assessed at the borough’s average of $123,319 will pay about $3,354 in taxes, $50 less than under this year’s budget.
   District officials credit the drop in tax rate to the refinancing of a $5.4 million loan that was used in 1998 for construction of a new wing for John F. Kennedy School.
   The district refinanced the loan to offset costs it expected to start paying this year for the construction of a new high school in Monroe. But the opening of that high school has been delayed until at least 2010, leaving Jamesburg without the burden of new high school costs to carry for now.
   As a result, the district’s debt service dropped 59 percent — to $125,862 — causing a one-time break for the borough’s taxpayers.
   While board Vice President Frank Tarulli called the approval of the budget a "no-brainer" at the March 30 school board meeting, some residents still voted against the budget.
   Speaking outside Borough Hall Tuesday, Marge Butch of Hilltop Court said she thought the tax rate was still too high.
   "Big deal, a whole 4 cents," she said. "Next year it’s going to go back up, then what are we going to do?"
   Ms. Butch said she is retired and living on a fixed income and wants the board to find alternative ways to fund the school budget rather than to rely mostly on property taxes.
   "They should start making the teachers and borough employees pay toward their medical insurance," she said.
   However, others accepted the school budget regardless of the district’s reliance on property taxes.
   Gino and Dara Valiant of Antoinette Court said they voted "yes" for the budget because they believe the school board is doing the best it can to control costs.
   "It may seem high to some people, but what is the right thing to do for the children of the town?" Mr. Valiant said.
   Many voters said they supported the proposed budget because they believe the district does a good job in difficult circumstances. Many recalled how the district was forced to come up with $228,000 to cover an unexpected increase in the tuition paid for special education students in 2002 and had to cut after-school programs, lay off several teachers and the district’s librarian as a result.
   "It’s been a rough ride, you know?" Linda Bauer of Deerfield Lane said, her daughter, Alyssa, a fifth-grader at JFK, standing next to her. "It’s hard in this town and in this school. We don’t have a lot of extras so just to have the bare essentials — the basic things that you have to have — that’s important. That’s why I’m supportive."
   The budget leaves all funding in place from this year’s budget despite the tax rate decrease. It also includes salary for a new fifth-grade teacher at JFK.
   Ken Dembinski of Hilltop Court, a former member of the Jamesburg school board, said he believes voting "yes" to the budget is necessary in securing a bright future for the borough’s children.
   "Education is very important for the younger generations only because it’s for them to get ahead in what they need to do the rest of their lives," he said.
   Board member Michael Tehan, who voted in favor of the budget Tuesday afternoon, also equated supporting the budget with supporting the town’s children. He referred to education as a public good.
   "It’s like a street light," he said. "If a town doesn’t pay the electric bill, the electric company can’t turn off the street lights because it’s a public good. You can’t turn off education because you’re fed up with it or on a fixed income. You can’t just say ‘Well, I’ve paid my share,’ and turn it off."