SOUTH BRUNSWICK: School board adopts budget plan

by Davy James, Staff Writer
   The South Brunswick Board of Education adopted its proposed $139,383,922 school budget that carries no tax increase and eliminates 25 district positions, Monday.
   Superintendent Gary McCartney said the budget process is a delicate balance between the needs of students and the community’s ability to pay for the plan.
   ”Implementing a budget draws upon the skills of cost efficiency, cost effectiveness and making the budget go further than you thought it would,” he said during the public hearing. “We believe we’re doing everything we can to hold taxes down presenting a budget with minimal growth.”
   Taxpayers will vote April 21 on a tax levy of $96 million with no increase on last year’s tax rate of $2.605 per $100 of assessed valuation. Under that rate, the owner of a home assessed at the township average of $196,400 can expect to pay $5,116 in school taxes for the 2009-10 school year.
   The proposed budget is able to support a 2.8 percent increase in spending from last year’s budget without raising the tax rate due to a number of factors. The district received a 5 percent increase in state aid from last year, bringing the aid total to $25,251,515. The district also used $3.95 million in surplus to offset the need for a higher tax levy, in addition to bond refinancing and fiscal prudence.
   The district also announced it would be eliminating 25 positions, with 13.6 positions eliminated due to retirement and resignation. The remaining positions to be eliminated range from administrators, secretaries, paraprofessionals, custodians and supervisors.
   Two residents spoke at the meeting and praised the work of the administration to present a budget with no tax increase.
   ”I’m proud of the board and I’ll be the first one to vote on Election Day and I say yes,” said resident Buddy Taylor during the hearing. “Let’s not mess around this year. We messed around last year and we paid for it. Let’s all get together and make it a unanimous vote for this budget.”
   Last year, voters defeated the school’s proposed $135 million spending plan. In accordance with state law, the budget was turned over to the Township Council, which voted to cut $1.03 million from the original proposal.
   ”It’s clear to me that you were extremely sensitive to the economic times and the needs of the children,” said resident John Wolf during the hearing. “I urge my fellow citizens to vote for this budget.”
   Dr. McCartney said Tuesday that the board understands the dire economic circumstances in the township, which is why presenting a proposed budget that doesn’t raise taxes was important. He said if the budget were to be defeated it would likely encroach on the quality of education and programs in the district.
   ”Everything is vulnerable,” he said. “We’ve already peeled away the outer layers with this budget. If it’s defeated we would need to cut into things that matter more. I hope that doesn’t happen and we’ll explore every avenue to avoid further cuts.”