Cap plan affecting budget

State tax levy limit may lead to school cuts.

By: Joseph Harvie
   A proposed 4 percent state cap on tax levies could force the school district to include cuts in noninstructional programs in its $131.5 million school budget, district officials said.
   The cuts would include some nonteaching positions and reductions in several enrichment programs. Every effort was made to preserve class size, teacher training and academic programs, officials said.
   A public hearing is scheduled for the budget, which calls for a 4.8 percent school tax increase, at 8 p.m. Monday at Crossroads North Middle School on Georges Road.
   Residents will vote on the $94.6 million portion of the budget that is to be raised through property taxes — the tax levy — on April 17.
   The plan calls for an 11.8-cent increase in the school tax rate to $2.558 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. Under that rate, a house assessed at the township average of $196,000 would pay $5,013.68 in school taxes, which is $231.28 more than the current bill.
   School Business Administrator Anthony Tonzini said the district built its budget this year assuming it would be faced with a 4 percent tax levy cap that has been approved by the state Legislature but is still awaiting Gov. Jon Corzine’s signature.
   Because of the cap, the district changed its approach to drafting the budget, officials said. Mr. Tonzini said that, in the past, the district would ask principals and teachers for ideas on new programs that could be implemented. This year, however, the superintendent told school administrators to focus on programs they it wanted to preserve.
   "We used to ask for a sort of a wish list," Mr. Tonzini said. "This year we didn’t do that."
   Superintendent Gary McCartney said the district made cuts to proposals throughout the budget process, which he said started in October. However, he said the district only made cuts that would not directly affect the education of the students.
   "The cuts were made to protect what we believe in," Dr. McCartney said.
   That meant maintaining class sizes and programs like art and music. The district will eliminate six nonteaching positions through attrition, retirement, reorganization or nonrenewal. No one is being laid off, Dr. McCartney said. The positions include a grounds worker, secretary, hall monitor, dean, custodian, an administrative position and paraprofessionals.
   "We wanted to preserve the class size," said Joanne Kerkes, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. "There are lots of positions that are not mandated by the state, like music, art, librarians, counselors, but that is everything that the district does well. We wanted to preserve those things."
   In addition, the district created a four-year plan to reduce the budget and stay within the cap. This includes cutting more administrative positions, cutting out-of-state transportation for bands and sports teams, ending the practice of paying the fees for students who take advance-placement tests at the high school, reducing high school clubs and cutting full-day kindergarten.
   The district also is concerned that a state requirement that it carry no more than the equivalent of 2 percent of its budget in free balance or surplus could cause problems in the future. To meet the requirements, the district is using $3.86 million of its surplus as revenue in the budget.
   There is no guarantee that the district will have the same amount of surplus available next year, Dr. McCartney said. If not, the district probably would have to cut more programs, because the tax levy cap would prevent it from increasing taxes to make up the shortfall, he said.
   In addition to the surplus, the plan includes $20.16 million in state aid, 1.92 percent or $958,840 more than the $19.2 million it received in 2006-2007. The aid represents 24.2 cents on the tax rate, Mr. Tonzini said.
   The plan calls for $500,000 to be used for a new roof at Crossroads North, $250,000 for brick work and sidewalk repairs at Brunswick Acres and $250,000 for new firewalls at Indian Fields at Dayton and Brooks Crossing at Deans, Mr. Tonzini said. The district will use $250,000 of its capital improvements surplus to cover some of the costs, Mr. Tonzini said.
   The proposed plan includes $17.5 million for district employee benefits, including health insurance costs, $956,000 more than it paid last year. There also is $909,950 in contributions to the Public Employees’ Retirement System, the pension system for nonteaching employees, $243,000 more than last year, Mr. Tonzini said. The state and not the district contributes to the schoolteacher pension fund.
   The district is budgeting $8.3 million for transportation, which is an increase of about $670,000, Mr. Tonzini said.
   In addition, the plan calls for $3.63 million to cover electric and natural gas costs in the district, $220,000 more than last year, Mr. Tonzini said.
   The plan calls for $450,000 for new textbooks, which is $15,000 more than last year, Mr. Tonzini said. This includes money for new social studies books for the district’s revised curriculum, and replacement of older math, science, language arts and business books, Mr. Tonzini said.
   Ms. Kerekes said the district is proposing that $350,000 be used on technology throughout the district, including new lap top computers for the district’s computer labs, which are run from carts that go from class to class.
   "We just don’t have the space for a separate computer lab in all of our buildings," Ms. Kerekes said.
   When drafting the budget, the district also took into account an expected 221-student enrollment increase when preparing the budget, Mr. Tonzini said. There are currently 8,790 students in the district.
   To cover the increase, the district plans to create three new teaching positions, Mr. Tonzini said. Teacher-to-student ratios under the plan would stay at one for every 23 for elementary school students and one for every 25 middle and high school students, Ms. Kerekes said.
   Budget presentations also will be held: 7 p.m. today (Thursday) at South Brunswick High School; 7:30 p.m. Friday at Greenbrook School; 7 p.m. April 10 at Brooks Crossing and Monmouth Junction schools; 7:30 p.m. April 10 at Brunswick Acres, Constable and Greenbrook schools; 7:30 p.m. April 11 at Cambridge and Indian Fields schools; and 7 p.m. April 12 at Crossroads North Middle School.