Cora Berke, Lambertville
Although the South Hunterdon Regional High School has released a budget for voter approval that shows a series of actions to help reduce their high costs by $255,500, the overall bill to the taxpayer is raising again. For this year they are looking at a total budget of $10.57 million.
In the school board presentation of April 2, they suggest the property tax increase for Lambertville is “two cups per week” of coffee to the average homeowner. What they miss is we will most certainly again, by far, be the most expensive secondary school in New Jersey at $24,834 per student. The 2008 Department of Education School Report Card shows us at $9,598 over the state average. With our meager enrollment of 357 students, that now comes to $3.4 million in costs over the state average. We need to bring school spending to amore reasonable level by reclaiming some of this cash, not being told to drink two fewer cups of coffee per week.
Additionally, we are shown in the school board presentation that the payment of debt of $1,620,298 has gone down 4 percent. This seems to be a questionable case of “smoke and mirrors.” The administration and board are using the 2008-2009 Revised Appropriations to get this seemingly reduced percentage. In actuality, if they had used their figure presented to the community in last year’s March 20, 2008, presentation, where they listed the payment of debt as $1,228,464, the real percentages is an increase of 31.9 percent. It is fair to ask why the previous budget presented to the voters had an inaccuracy of $445,494 compared to the 2008-2009 revised appropriations? An explanation was asked for at the public presentation, but no explanation was given at that time.
We are asked now to vote again on their proposed budget. Last year the taxpayers voted to defeat the board’s request for $10.13 million and $55,000 was removed by negotiation. But the revised numbers on last year’s spending recently provided by the school board incredibly show they actually spent $10.84 million. They spent $769,829 more than the taxpayers and local officials reluctantly approved! It seems our votes make little difference in the end game, but it is the only way to show we need to finally address the high costs of our small junior/senior high school.
If the proposed budget is allowed to pass, we loose any chance to have local, county and state officials finally act to solve this ongoing problem of exorbitant costs. The administrators and board seem unwilling to look at modern methods to do online, less expensive teaching for some of their tiny classes that currently take a salaried teacher. If the teacher load, the number of students a single teacher is assigned, cannot be increased from the current low load of 50-65 students to something closer to the state average load of 100-130 students, we seem to be wasting our teaching staff and our taxes.
A solid no vote on April 21 would cause the mayors and town councils of Lambertville, Stockton and West Amwell to bring the high school budget into a reasonable range.
Also, it might be time to form an independent, qualified study group to look to major change or to closing the high school.
Please be aware the polls are only open from 3-9 p.m. on April 21. Check the sample ballot to locate your polling place.

