The Township Committee and West Amwell Board of Education have agreed to cut $20,000 from the defeated school budget.
By: Linda Seida
WEST AMWELL The Township Committee tentatively agreed Tuesday to cut $20,000 from the West Amwell Elementary School budget, which would delay the school’s plan to relocate the district’s preschool for handicapped children.
The students include a mix of both physically disabled children and those who face other challenges.
The proposed cut, which would be taken from the budget’s capital improvement category, will not affect the preschool’s operation. But it will force the preschool to remain housed at Lambertville Public School for at least another year, and delay plans to include non-special education students, according to Superintendent Todd Fay.
The program is housed at Lambertville Public School because of a shortage of space in West Amwell. The $20,000 budgeted for the relocation would have allowed the district to renovate a neighboring building owned by Lehigh Fluid Power and use it for the preschool, Dr. Fay said.
The cut would shave less than $20 from the average taxpayer’s school taxes.
"It’s a little bit of symbolism over substance, but, certainly, we do have some type of obligation" to the voters, Committeeman Gary Bleacher said.
Voters shot down the school’s proposed $3.67 million budget last month 197-180.
The school district had asked voters to approve a spending plan that would have increased taxes by $200 for the owner of a property assessed at the township average of $444,855 for a total elementary school tax of $2,801 a year.
The cut proposed by the committee would reduce the annual tax by $17.34, according to Business Administrator Richard Kilpatrick.
The committee had the option of keeping the budget intact as originally proposed by the district or cutting it. The committee also was charged with suggesting how much was to be cut and from which budget category.
Approximately 85 percent of the budget consists of fixed costs, including contractual salaries and benefits and mandated programs, according to school board President Cynthia Magill.
The committee was expected to formally agree to the $20,000 budget cut by resolution Wednesday night after The Beacon went to press.
The Board of Education could agree to the cut during a May 9 meeting, allowing the district to meet the state’s May 19 deadline.
An additional smaller cut still is possible. At the request of Dr. Fay, Mr. Bleacher agreed to investigate the possibility of having the township help out with the school’s grass-cutting. Currently, the school pays a contractor $6,000 a year to do the job.
Township officials agreed the budget was already "conservative" before the cut.
"I don’t see a whole lot of wiggle room in the actual budget," Committeeman Ron Shapella said.
Three capital improvement projects faced potential cuts that could have totaled $68,500. One was the relocation of the preschool. The school’s fire alarm system needs upgrades budgeted at $28,500, but officials did not want to shortchange safety. The third project consists of improvements worth $20,000 to the school’s playing fields and grounds.