Support for school budget at hearing

Residents said the district was wise to cut administrative positions rather than teaching positions and increase class size in order to stay within a 4 percent tax levy cap.

By: Joseph Harvie
   Some residents, including two school board candidates, said the school board has done a good job with this year’s proposed spending plan.
   During a public hearing on the $131.5 million proposal Monday, residents said the district was wise to cut administrative positions rather than cut teaching positions and increase class size in order to stay within a 4 percent tax levy cap.
   Residents will vote on the $94.6 million tax levy portion of the budget during school elections 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, $231.28 more than the current bill.
   School Business Administrator Anthony Tonzini said one of the driving factors is an expected enrollment increase of 221 students, bringing total district enrollment to 9,011. He said the budget had to include staffing, materials, books and transportation for these students.
   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, said Joanne Kerekes, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
   Ms. Kerekes said the budget also includes staffing for the new wing at Crossroads North, which should be completed by the start of the 2007-2008 school year. The 10,900-square-foot addition would have six classrooms and two small instruction rooms, Mr. Tonzini said.
   The district will eliminate six nonteaching positions through attrition, retirement, reorganization or nonrenewal. No one is being laid off, Superintendent Gary McCartney said. The positions include a grounds worker, secretary, hall monitor, dean, custodian, an administrative position and paraprofessionals.
   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, Mr. Tonzini said. If it doesn’t, 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 fire walls 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, 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, $15,000 more than last year, Ms. Kerekes 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, Ms. Kerekes said. In addition, a portion of that money will be used to purchase 100 calculators for the high school.
   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.
   School board candidate Mahesh (Mac) Shah said he is happy to see the school district maintain its teacher-to-student ratios.
   School board candidate Arif Patel said that although he supports the budget, he would like the district to release information about the steps it took to keep the budget under the 4 percent levy cap. He said that people living on fixed incomes would appreciate seeing the steps the district took during the budget process to arrive at the 11.8-cent tax increase in the school tax.
   Carolyn McCallum, a former mayor and member of the Township Committee, asked why the district did not build firewalls in the Dayton and Deans schools earlier.
   Dr. McCartney said the work is being done this year, because of a change in the township Fire Code, which requires the walls be installed to separate the two levels of the schools. He said that in case of a fire the firewalls would contain the blaze to one level or the other.
   John Wolf, former school board member, said the district should be proud that it was able to keep the increase as low as it did without eliminating teaching positions.
   Arthur Robinson, a former school board candidate, said he supports the budget because it put the education of the children first, and the cuts to keep it within the cap were taken from places other than programs for the students. In addition, he urged people to vote for legislators in November who would work to get a new funding formula for public schools.
   Budget presentations will also be held at 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.