UFRSD reacts to 35% state aid reduction

ALLENTOWN — The Upper Freehold Regional Board of Education will hold an emergency meeting March 29 to finalize the proposed school budget for 2010-11.
The board found out last week that the state would reduce its state aid 31.5 percent over last year’s instead of the anticipated 10-15 percent. The school district also found out that it could present a budget with a tax cap over 4 percent to compensate for the aid reduction. However, the district still wants to maintain the 9.88 percent tax levy increase it proposed when applying for tax cap levy waivers for opening the new school and increased health benefit costs.
The total tax levy in the proposed budget amounts to $19.1 million. If voters approve the proposed budget in the April 20 election, an Upper Freehold resident with a house assessed at the average of $492,900 would pay a tax increase of about $851. An Allentown resident with a house assessed at the average of $153,400 would pay a tax increase of about $391.
Although the board will make its final decisions regarding specific cuts to and anticipated revenues for the proposed budget on Monday, the spending plan that it will propose at the public hearing March 31 will likely include a total expenditure increase over last year of 2.8 percent, or $910,602. The proposed budget for 2010-11 is expected to total $33.5 million.
The school district started devising its budget in January in order to meet the deadline for applying for tax cap levy waivers. At that time, the district anticipated additional costs of nearly $4 million over last year’s budget. These costs included needed staff and supplies for grades pre-K to 12 amounting to $374,127; needed staff for opening the new middle school amounting to $867,500; contracted salary increases totaling $951,246; increased health benefit costs of $877,950; energy costs resulting from the new school at $481,188; new sewer use costs from Allentown amounting to $31,000; FICA increases at $108,087; middle school property insurance costs of $25,000; and out-of-district tuition costs for special education students amounting to $250,930. The initial draft of the budget totaled $36.5 million.
The district got word from the county executive superintendent of schools early on to expect a decrease in state aid of 10-15 percent and to expect to use excess surplus in lieu of state aid. To accommodate for the reductions in state aid and increased fixed costs while trying to keep the tax levy increase just under 10 percent, the district cut $2.2 million for a proposed budget of $34.3 million.
The district had anticipated losing $542,121 in state aid, but Gov. Chris Christie announced March 16 that he would reduce the district’s state aid by $1.7 million. The district also learned that it would have to pay $120,225 interest on the debt for its school renovation and development projects, as a result of debt service aid reduction. The district also learned that Upper Freehold Township has refused paying $85,000 for last year’s courtesy busing of students living less than two miles from the school campus.
The school district also realized additional revenue sources last week, including $67,500 in extraordinary aid. Christie also asked districts to go into their current school year budget and close accounts, using any leftover funds toward their new budgets. The school district pulled $255,182 from this year’s budget after its audit.
As a result of the new information, the school district decided to try to cut just over $1 million more from the budget or find additional revenue sources to keep the proposed tax levy at 9.88 percent.
The governor has asked school districts to reopen teachers’ and administrators’ contracts for negotiating a zero pay increase for this year and having staff pay toward benefit costs. Before Christie asked, the Upper Freehold Regional School District staff agreed to do just that. The union decided to defer pay increases for six months, so the district could put $500,000 toward increased health benefit costs. Union members did not want to reopen their contracts again, as of last week.
Warren Gessman, president of the education association, said teachers chose to defer their pay increase in order to minimize the impact on programs and class size.
“The reduction in programs and the increase in class size both negatively impact students learning,” Gessman said.
He said the bulk of the impact of the cuts has fallen on the educational staff.
“There’s only been minimal cuts in administration,” he told the board. “I think you need to look in a different direction. You will hurt the educational program in school if you continue to cut the teaching staff.”
The Board of Education decided last week to cut three special education paraprofessionals, which means remaining paraprofessionals could be assigned to more than one student this year. The board has also decided to cut one full-time second-grade teacher and one full-time eighth-grade teacher. As a result of the reduction in teachers this year, first-grade classes will have an average of 22 students, second-grade classes will have about 25 students, third-grade classes will have 23 students, fourth-grade classes will have about 24 students, fifth-grade classes will have about 26 students, sixth-grade classes will have about 28 students, seventh-grade classes will have about 26 students and eighth-grade classes will have about 28 students.
The Board of Education is also considering cutting about 5.5 more full-time positions from the high school for a total of 12 positions eliminated. The average high school class has about 30 students. Some classes may have to be taught in a college lecture setting as a result of this year’s proposed cuts. The additional cuts at the high school being considered include one science and one math teacher, one physical education or one social studies teacher, and parts of other positions that would affect information technology, English, world language and applied arts classes. The reductions in staff would save $631,650.
The board has decided to reuse former marching band half-time shows to save $3,000. With regard to other extracurricular activities and athletics, the board is considering pay-to-play, which means students would have to pay fees to participate.
The administration also recommended that the board outsource school bus runs to save $272,000. When bus drivers, parents and staff asked the board to consider the safety implications of doing so, the board asked the transportation department to reopen its contracts and to try to reorganize bus routes to come up with a savings of $150,000. If the department cannot do so, the board would outsource the bus runs but keep the current transportation department director to oversee busing.
If voters turn down the budget in the upcoming election, the school district would have to cut an additional $1,022,682 from the budget to reach a 4 percent tax levy increase.
The board will make its final draft of the budget at 7 p.m. March 29 in the Board of Education building. The public hearing and final vote on the proposed spending plan is set for March 31.