MONTGOMERY — The Board of Education for Montgomery schools approved a tentative budget for the 2011-2012 of $78.1 million on Wednesday, March 2, according to a statement released by the Office of the Superintendent.
The budget, up from last year’s $77.9 million, will go to the acting county superintendent of schools, Kathy Serafino, for approval. Once approved, the Board of Education will vote on a final budget adoption before returning the budget, again, to the county superintendent for final approval. The budget vote is scheduled for April 27.
The district lost $5.5 million in state aid since February 2010 due to cuts in state education funding.
”The manner in which the cuts in state aid were implemented last year hurt districts like Montgomery, which operate at the lowest per pupil spending among comparable districts, more than it did districts with larger margins,” said Superintendent Earl Kim in the statement. “This increase in aid is appreciated, though had the state allocated aid using the funding formula, Montgomery residents would have benefited much more.”
The increase in state aid for 2011-2012 restores 13 percent of previously reduced school aid, according to the statement.
The district used $482,000 of the additional $710,000 in state aid to restore classroom teaching positions, $28,000 to partially subsidize middle school sports, which were cut last year, and $279,000 to provide tax relief. In addition, a few adjustments to the proposed budget were made resulting in $79,000 in additional net reductions, said Mr. Kim.
”The cuts last year were crippling,” he said. “When we had to cut teachers, support staff and administrators, the students lost out — especially our struggling learners. The additional state aid combined with Montgomery Township Education Association’s givebacks allowed us to restore critical early elementary and academic support programs as well as our elementary world language program. Restoring classroom cuts was a top priority for us.”
The district also raised its contribution to middle school sports by funding transportation, supplies and reconditioning services.
”The loss of middle school sports last year was a real blow,” said Mr. Kim. “While most programs were picked up through the Recreation Department or parent groups, the fees were quite high and prevented a significant number of students from participating. We could not cover all the costs, but we made an effort to make the programs more accessible to all students by sharing some of the costs … Any kind of co-curricular activity, whether the chess club or the cross-country program, helps students to be connected, known and valued in our school community … and that’s important to us.”
The district is using a significant portion of the aid for tax relief. Projecting significant budgetary challenges in future years, approximately $279,000 is being used as tax relief over two years – $140,000 being applied this year and $138,000 next year.
The Board of Education will hold a special meeting on Monday, March 14, at 7 p.m. at the Upper Middle School media center to give the public the opportunity to ask questions regarding the proposed budget. No action will be taken at the meeting.
