In the end, it was the voters’ overwhelming rejection of the Howell K-8 School District’s proposed tax levy for 2010-11 that led some Howell Township Council members to stand fast with their $1.9 million cut to the district’s budget for the upcoming academic year.
“I don’t know anyone … who got a raise last year, this year or next year,” Councilwoman Pauline Smith said. “I know an awful lot of people that lost jobs, got a pay cut or were demoted. The lucky ones maintained the status quo. I vote no because the people can’t afford it. It’s not a bottomless pit. Tax dollars come from all of us.”
Council members last week voted 3-2 against approving a memorandum of agreement with the Howell Board of Education and the Howell Township Education Association (HTEA) that would have lowered the $1.9 million cut they made to the defeated school tax levy several weeks ago to $1.5 million.
Howell Mayor Robert F. Walsh and Deputy Mayor Angela Dalton cast the yes votes. Smith and council members Susan Schroeder Clark and William Gotto voted no.
Walsh said before the vote that he would support the council’s decision no matter what the result. But he and Dalton said that in the spirit of cooperation they would vote to reduce the amount of money to be cut from the tax levy.
“I will stand with you tonight and vote, so we can make an effort to try and do something positive, instead of just throwing it back on the board and administration’s lap,” Dalton said.
The council’s vote last week came after several weeks of negotiations among the board, the HTEA, the township and the county superintendent of schools office.
In April, voters in Howell turned down the proposed $66.2 million tax levy portion of the district’s $108.2 million budget for the 2010-11 school year.
The Township Council, which was charged with certifying a school tax levy for the 2010-11 school year, voted to cut $1.9 million from the tax levy during a May 18 meeting that was packed with members of the HTEA, which represents the district’s teachers. The certified tax levy was (and now is) $64.3 million for 2010-11.
But that was not the end of the matter.
The board and the HTEA continued to negotiate and eventually approved the memorandum of agreement which called for nearly $1 million in givebacks by the union in the upcoming school year.
Board of Education member Timothy O’Brien and school district Business Administrator Ronald Sanasac attended the council meeting to make a final plea for the agreement’s approval.
About 10 teaching positions would have been saved if the agreement was approved by all three parties (the board, the HTEA and the council). Up to 15 more teaching jobs would be eliminated if the deal was not approved, O’Brien said.
“We will do everything we can, regardless of the outcome,” he said. “The rest is up to you. I know you’re in a difficult position.”
Walsh, who served as the council’s liaison during the numerous meetings held since the defeat of the tax levy in April, said he appreciated the union’s givebacks.
“You should have stepped up sooner,” he said. “It should have been after the vote.”
But Walsh and other council members said they thought more could have been cut and more jobs saved had people been willing to make more concessions.
“A lot of other things could be done without a number of other teachers being laid off,” the mayor said. “I can’t tell you that I’m thrilled with what was brought to the table. I could find the $1.9 million and not a single other person would lose their job. I’m not a happy camper. I think a lot more could have been done.”
Walsh and other council members noted that Howell municipal employees, from management on down, had agreed to take furlough days every other Friday through November. That translates into a 6.7 percent pay cut for the year.
“There’s a disparity there,” Gotto said. “Because of that disparity, I just didn’t feel it was enough to override the vote that occurred on April 20.” He also said the voters’ rejection of the school tax levy was “a wake-up call to do things differently.”
The Board of Education had to grapple with the loss of nearly $5 million in state aid and, like other districts, was forced to spend down its surplus during the 2009-10 school year under a directive from Gov. Chris Christie. Despite the concessions from district administrators and the HTEA, it wasn’t enough, Gotto said.
“I just don’t see at the end of the day that we solved that problem,” he said. “I was looking for this to come from other areas. That didn’t happen. At the end of the day, we are still losing. We didn’t solve the problem. The taxpayers just can’t afford that level of programming.”
Resident Barbara Dixel urged council members not to reduce the $1.9 million cut they had previously certified in the tax levy for the K-8 school district.
“I don’t really think the board gave up anything,” Dixel said. “I don’t think they gave up a lot of programs. The $1.9 million should stand.”
The memorandum of agreement — which is now moot — called for the HTEA members to pay 1.5 percent of their salary toward the cost of their health care premiums until their current contract with the board expires on July 30, 2011. The HTEA had also agreed to forgo tuition reimbursement and agreed to a reduction in professional development funds for 2010-11.
Board members agreed to include an anticipated, but not guaranteed, $412,000 in extraordinary aid from the state in the budget. School officials won’t know until August if the district will receive the aid, O’Brien said.
“It may not come to pass,” he said. “That could be an issue we have to wrestle with.”
Walsh and Dalton said this year’s tough economic times are just the beginning.
“This governor is going to get what he wants and what the public wants, and that’s a cap on the amount taxes can be raised in the coming year,” Dalton said. “People are taking pay cuts all over the place. There’s a tempest coming with the tax problems in this state.”
Walsh and Dalton said they were disgusted by comments made by some people in Howell that the council had already agreed to certain stipulations.
“This governing body didn’t have to do a thing after the vote,” Walsh said. “Some of the things that have been said, it’s pretty pathetic. I stuck my neck out. I’ll be hardpressed to stick my neck out again. If there’s negotiations next year, it will be someone else from the governing body. I’m going to be poolside or on the golf course. There’s going to be much more heartache and pain if everybody just puts their feet in cement.”