GUEST OPINION
Lawrence B. Glasberg
Given the importance of the debate regarding the cost of educating the children in Princeton, and the impact that this discussion will have on the ability of people like myself to continue to live here, please allow me to offer my input.
Having acquired an excellent education in New York City’s public schools, I am aware of the importance of this resource to our children. I continue to be a strong supporter of maintaining a superior school system in our town. In fact, the outstanding Princeton Regional School System was the primary reason we moved here.
However, like many of my fellow citizens, I have watched with concern as school taxes have rapidly grown over the years, far exceeding the growth in the Consumer Price Index and in my personal income. I question why these costs have increased at such an alarming rate.
For example, school taxes grew more than 47 percent during the six-year period 2000-2006, despite an increase in state aid to our school district of 35 percent, while the Consumer Price Index went up approximately 18 percent over that time.
I’ve noted recent comments made by others on this matter. Some suggest that the real issue driving taxes higher is a lack of adequate funding support from the state. Others seem to feel that these huge cost increases are simply reflective of the investment required to achieve outstanding educational results. I believe that there is another factor at play as well. We have a significant school cost Problem. It has been developing for quite some time, and it is largely a result of decisions made locally. The solution to this must be found in Princeton.
As a former senior financial officer, I’ve often used benchmarking as a performance measurement tool. Benchmarking compares one organization’s results to that of others in the same industry. I recently benchmarked the Princeton Regional School District’s cost structure to those of other districts, both in Mercer County and surrounding areas. This analysis proved to be most telling.
In New Jersey, we have available a great benchmarking tool. It’s called the annual New Jersey School Report Card. Available via the Internet, this database has information comparing all state school districts in a number of key areas. The attributes I looked at included: the cost of educating one student for a year; the number of administrators as compared to the student population; and the cost of non-classroom support services.
I chose not to review the cost of direct classroom instruction, but rather focused on the costs of overhead or administration. However, I noted that teacher compensation (salary plus benefits) has been growing at 8-9 percent a year, or about three times the rate of inflation.
Here are the results:
The Princeton Regional School District has the highest cost per student of all school districts in Mercer County. Princeton also has the highest cost per student as compared to outstanding school districts in neighboring counties. Princeton’s costs are substantially higher than the average for all school districts in the state.
Princeton’s cost per student was $14,645 in 2005. This was 16 percent higher than West Windsor-Plainsboro ($12,653), 10 percent higher than Hopewell ($13,335), 43 percent higher than Montgomery ($10,261), 26 percent higher than South Brunswick ($11,645), 25 percent higher than Bridgewater/Raritan ($11,750), and 29 percent higher than Bernards ($11,328). All of these school districts operate in the same state-funding environment and all produce outstanding educational results.
Princeton Regional has the largest number of administrators relative to the student population of all school districts in Mercer County, neighboring outstanding school districts, and the state average.
With 149 students per administrator in 2005, Princeton had 28 percent more administrative staff than West Windsor-Plainsboro (19 students per administrator), 26 percent more than Montgomery (188 students per administrator), nine percent more than South Brunswick (162 students per administrator), 47 percent more than Bridgewater/Raritan (219 students per administrator), and 30 percent more than Bernards (193 students per administrator). The only school district that had a similar administrative burden was Hopewell, which recently announced a reduction in administrative staff.
In the area of non-classroom support services (social work, health, guidance, library), costs at Princeton Regional far exceed those in neighboring communities, including outstanding school districts. These costs were 50 percent higher than West Windsor-Plainsboro, twice as high as Montgomery, 88 percent higher than South Brunswick, 54 percent higher than Hopewell, and 41 percent higher than the state average, among others.
The indicators are clear. We need to do a better job in getting our school costs under control, while maintaining an outstanding educational program. The residents of this community should expect a better return on our educational investment.
That only a small minority of the community’s registered voters supported the budget during the recent election should send a strong signal to those who craft the spending program. Let’s all work together to be more effective in this area, so that the system works for our children and for the folks who pay the bills.
Laurence B. Glasberg is a resident of Princeton