Lambertville Public School and West Amwell Elementary School will keep salaries at the 2008-09 rate in the 2009-10 school year
By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
Two school districts have frozen their administrators’ salaries in an effort to keep costs down during the recession.
Lambertville Public School and West Amwell Elementary School will keep salaries at the 2008-09 rate in the 2009-10 school year.
”I’m happy to say that all of the administrative team were very cooperative,” West Amwell Board of Education President Cynthia Magill said.
She characterized the decision to freeze salaries as “tough decisions in tough times.”
”People need to see that we’re all pulling together to get through a very, very hard time in our history,” Ms. Magill said.
LPS Board of Education President Steven Wolock said, “It’s a challenge to keep up when expenses increase more than the budget increases. But that’s how it’s been, and we deal with it by sharing, group purchasing, freezing administrative salaries.”
LPS and West Amwell share a superintendent and a business administrator. Each school pays half of Superintendent Todd Fay’s $166,669 salary and half of Business Administrator Donna Tolley’s $115,000 salary. Their salaries will not change in the coming school year.
West Amwell Principal Lynne Meara’s salary will remain at $100,000.
LPS Principal Gail Tress’ annual salary will remain at $99,085.
”By sharing the two positions, we are already cutting administrative costs, and now by freezing those salaries for this coming year, we will be maintaining that savings in these extremely difficult economic times,” Ms. Magill said. “We must all do our share to get through this financial difficulty, and I feel our school boards are being very responsive to that need.”
In addition to the salary freeze, Dr. Fay also put a freeze on spending at both schools.
The spending freeze could mean fewer student field trips unless the students raise funds or pay out of pocket. The districts opted to continue to try to fund the annual fall sixth-grade trip to Camp Fairview in Sussex County. Last fall, LPS paid $4,500 for 15 students to attend the camp.
West Amwell paid $5,000 for 29 students.
”I do expect it to occur again next year, but we may need to charge families some to defray the costs,” Dr. Fay said. “It is a critical part of the curriculum, and I have no intention of eliminating it.”
Sixth-graders from LPS, West Amwell and Stockton Public School spend three days and two nights at the camp. They get to know students from the other schools and form relationships before they become classmates in the seventh grade at South Hunterdon Regional High School.
The spending freeze was prompted by a worry the state will not give the schools anticipated funding.
”The state is planning on not giving us the full amount of money they had planned on giving us,” LPS Board of Education President Wolock said.
Another factor is the economic difficulty faced by some students’ families.
”We have parents all the time losing their jobs,” Dr. Fay said. “We don’t want to be in the habit of holding out our hands.”
The spending freeze will mean teachers have to think twice before requesting more supplies to be ordered. Basics still will be provided, and the school will continue to function, Mr. Wolock said.
”We’re really reconsidering the way we pay for things, especially field trips,” he said.
School districts expect to find out March 12 the amount of state aid they will receive.
LPS will hold a public budget hearing March 31 at 7 p.m. at the school.
West Amwell will hold its public budget hearing March 30 at 6 p.m. at the school.

