The Board of Education was expected to agree May 9 to the $20,000 cut that would delay moving the preschool for handicapped children.
By: Linda Seida
WEST AMWELL The Township Committee has made its final recommendation to cut $20,000 from West Amwell Elementary School’s defeated $3.67 million budget.
The cut will delay the relocation of the district’s preschool for handicapped children. The committee unanimously agreed on the amount of the cut May 3 after reaching a tentative consensus the previous night with the Board of Education.
The Board of Education was expected to approve the budget reduction Tuesday night after The Beacon went to press.
The preschool now is housed at Lambertville Public School where it will remain for at least another year. The $20,000 would have enabled the district to bring it back into the township by renovating a neighboring building owned by Lehigh Fluid Power.
The program serves about 10 children, including six from the township. The remaining students live in Lambertville. Some students are physically disabled, and others face different types of learning challenges.
Township officials met with members of the board, the administration and the district’s business administrator twice since the budget was defeated last month by voters 197-180.
The $20,000 cut will result in a slight reduction in property taxes for the average property owner.
The owner of a house assessed at the township average of $444,855 will pay $2,800.80 The budget that was shot down by voters had asked property owners to pay $17.34 more.
The tax rate for 2006-07 will be about 63 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, up from about 60 cents this year.
Township officials were charged with recommending how much to cut, if anything, and from which budget category. They scrutinized the proposed budget almost line by line and agreed it was a "conservative" spending plan with little room to cut without harming programs or shortchanging safety features such as the fire alarm system, which needs more than $28,000 in upgrades.
Also left intact were improvements worth $20,000 to the school’s playing fields and grounds.
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.

