CRANBURY: School adopts $15.5 million budget

By David Kilby, Staff Writer
   CRANBURY — The public had very few comments and no complaints at the Board of Education hearing on the proposed $15.5 million budget Tuesday.
   Following the hearing, the board adopted the budget, 8-0, with Eveyln Spann absent.
   The proposed 2011-12 spending plan is $15,482,513, or 2.6 percent lower than this year’s with a total proposed tax levy of $14,941,270.
   That budget includes $4,818,032 for out-of-district tuition; $3,506,324 for regular programming; $2,234,605 for employee benefits; $1,130,440 for support services; $827,627 for special education; $827,610 for transportation; $750,265 for administrative services; $141,618 for co-curricular activities and athletics; and $128,862 for staff training and support, according to the presentation.
   Lynne Schwarz, board president, said the board has no control over the largest portions of the budget — salaries and wages and out-of district tuition. Salaries and wages account for 49.5 percent of the budget, and tuition accounts for about 28 percent.
   Princeton High School has reduced tuition from $17,608 per student two years ago to $16,529 per student next year.
   Despite decreases in state aid from two years ago and increases in health care and pension costs, the school district has managed to keep the tax levy just under the 2 percent cap at 1.9 percent.
   The district will receive $176,258 in state aid for the 2011-12 budget, which is an increase from no state aid for this year, but still less than the $805,785 it received in 2009-10.
   The tax rate in the proposed budget is 98.09 cents per $100 dollars of assessed valuation, a 3.87-cent increase from last year. The owner of a house assessed at the average of $608,331 would pay $5,966.99 per year, $235.66 more than last year, if the budget is passed April 27.
   The presentation said the board attempts to balance the educational needs of students and the resources available to the district from local, state and federal sources and the community, with consideration given to the tax impact. The presentation presented at the public hearing is available at www.cranburyschool.org, under the Board of Education tab.
   The 2011-12 budget maintains all current programs, provides for three classroom sections in grades one through five and reinstates art, industrial arts and French in grades kindergarten to first, all of which will be full year- courses.
   ”As we look back at the last year, we have a bunch of things to be proud of,” Ms. Schwarz said.
   The district has adopted and implemented a new K-5 literacy program; it has completed a pole barn for extra storage; refinanced its debt, yielding more than $300,000 in savings, maintaining the school’s AAA bond rating; and continues to make progress in replacing the old doors and windows in the school.
   Enrollment in Cranbury School has decreased slightly over the past five years, peaking at 635 students in 2006 and coming down to 610 this year. School officials estimate an enrollment of 588 next year.
   Cranbury student enrollment at Princeton High School has remained steady at around 270 students.
   Ms. Schwarz said the school district is financially conservative and always looking for ways to save money. One way the district does that is through shared services, she said.
   ”Shared services is a huge hot button in the media today,” Ms. Schwarz said. “It’s something we’ve been doing for years.”
   The district shares its library with the Cranbury Public Library; it shares fuel costs with Cranbury Township; transportation, nonpublic school administrative services, natural gas and electricity expenses with the Middlesex Educational Services Commission; paper with Pittsgrove Board of Education’s cooperative purchasing; and technology equipment and supplies with the Hunterdon Educational Services Commission.
   The school district still is struggling in some areas, though, and school officials said they regret the district couldn’t reinstate the wrestling and softball teams.
   ”It would not be a wise way to spend the dollars if we had them,” Ms. Schwarz said. “In the equation, it’s not something we’re looking to put back in.”
   But the school district did manage to begin a literary magazine to replace the student newspaper that was dropped last year when the budget was cut.
   The questions during the public hearing were limited.
   ”The fact that there were so few questions proves that you trained us well,” Ms. Schwarz said to Joyce Picariello, school business administrator.
   Voter registration deadline is April 6. The polls for voting on the budget and board candidates will be open April 27 from 2 to 9 p.m.
   In addition to the budget, incumbents Jennifer Cooke, Kevin Fox and Ms. Spann will be running against candidate, Pramod Chivate for the three available three-year terms on the board.
This article was modified on March 20, 2012.