LAMBERTVILLE: Growth is LPS budget challenge

By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
   LAMBERTVILLE — At the Lambertville Public School, there is good news in two areas.
   However, one of them is leading to an expense while the other is bringing hefty savings.
   The savings first: Thanks to a conscious effort by the administration, teachers and staff, the school has been able to trim about $20,000 from its energy bill in the last year. Efforts and initiatives are continuing to try to bring the energy costs down even more in the future, according to school officials.
   The large savings is a positive step in trying to keep property taxes under control as the Board of Education prepares to present the district’s tentative $3,441,377 budget at two public hearings later this month.
   More savings are anticipated when LPS and West Amwell Elementary School hire a new shared superintendent when Dr. Todd Fay leaves at the end of the current school year to take a position at a Pennsylvania school.
   Because of a state-mandated salary cap for superintendents, a minimum $5,000 savings is expected next year, according to LPS.
   LPS also has saved almost $16,000 by renegotiating with South Hunterdon Regional High School for the Child Study Team services South Hunterdon provides to LPS.
   Also in the good news category is the fact that LPS is getting nearly $32,000 more in state aid. “While this is only one-fifth of the money cut last year, it is a welcome increase and every penny returned offsets property taxes,” board President Steven Wolock said.
   THE OTHER NEWS — the one leading to a budget challenge — is that the enrollment has spiked. Enrollment is expected to top 190 next year, up from 181 this year.
   ”Increasing enrollment presents some challenges, but at the same time it’s wonderful that we’re growing,” Mr. Wolock said.
   The growing pains are adding to expenses. For the average homeowner, the proposed budget would mean an increase in property taxes of about $42 to support the school.
   Because of the school’s growth, the proposed budget would increase the tax levy, the amount collected from local taxpayers, by 3 percent. Although that’s more than the 2-percent cap the state has restricted most school districts to for the 2011-12 school year, it’s much lower than the maximum 16.9 percent the state said LPS could increase taxes.
   ”We believe we have put together a fiscally sound budget that will meet the needs of our growing student body, and we are anxious to share that with the voters,” said Finance Committee Chairman Derek Roseman.
   THE FIRST of two public hearings will be held March 29 at 7 p.m. in the library at the school, 200 N. Main St.
   The second public hearing will be held April 14 at 7 p.m. at the Justice Center, 25 S. Union St.
   The state gave its approval for the higher tax levy because of increased enrollment. A new teacher must be hired to staff a second first-grade classroom. Salary and benefits could add up to about $70,000, but a final figure will not be known until the hiring process is completed.
   The school anticipates that enrollment in 2011-12 will increase approximately 5 percent over this year and 26 percent over 2009-10, according to Mr. Wolock.
   ”The biggest challenge is ensuring that we meet the needs of a quickly growing school,” he said. “This year’s kindergarten class topped out at 43 students, and 35 new students have already registered for next year’s kindergarten.”
   The state says that no more than 25 students can be in a kindergarten classroom.
   Next year, with 190 students or more, the school will need two kindergarten sections and two first grades. This year’s enrollment of 181 is divided among two kindergarten sections and one section each of grades one to six. In the 2009-10 school year, enrollment was 151, with one section each of kindergarten to grade six.
   The addition of another first-grade teacher would result in two sections of about 21 students each.
   The school also plans to increase the amount of time a guidance counselor services the school, from two days a week to three. The school contracts with the Hunterdon Medical Center for the services of a guidance counselor at a cost of $9,000 per year, Business Administrator Donna Tolley said.
   The guidance counselor’s increased hours will be in response to a special education audit that was performed at South Hunterdon Regional High School and its three sending districts, which include LPS. The audit called for increasing basic skills, trying to avert the need for special education classification later by giving students the skills they need through early intervention.
   ”Our goal is to use the audit’s recommendations to provide the early intervention that can be vital to a student later in his/her school career,” Mr. Roseman said. “The investments we wish to make now can save money long-term as students get that early intervention, and can get onto the track of regular instruction rather than special instruction.”
   The addition of a part-time aid also is required for special education, at a cost of about $7,000 for the year. The school must provide the service and by law cannot deny it.
   Another area over which the district has no control is the cost of contracted employee benefits. These will account for nearly 20 percent of the budget, according to the district. They will increase from $617,093 in 2010-11 to $668,004 in 2011-12. The school board anticipates that these costs could decease over the coming school year if pension and health benefit reform legislation becomes law.
   THE PROPOSED TAX LEVY, the amount local taxpayers would pay to support the school, would be $3,059,079. In 2010-11, the tax levy was $2,969,973.
   The proposed tax rate is 42.7 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. For the owner of a house assessed at the current city average of $357,866, the tax bill would be $1,528.09. Last year, when the tax rate was 41.1 cents per $100 of assessed value and the average assessment was $359,000, the average homeowner paid $1,486.26.