HILLSBOROUGH: Budget would spend on technology, instruction

Administrators explain details of spending plan

By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
   Savings from health-care concessions from the schools’ staff will come back to the district in ways that should help improve students’ classroom performance, maintains Superintendent Jorden Schiff.
   Dr. Schiff and other administrators detailed projected revenue and expenses in a press conference Tuesday. Voters must approve the tax levy that supports the budget in an election on Wednesday, April 27.
   ”We’re moving money from the health savings into improved programs and materials that will directly help kids and support teachers,” said Dr. Schiff.
   The school had identified four cost areas that would drive up the budget this year. They are health insurance premium rises of up to 19%; adding more and improved technology; curriculum and instruction, and capital improvements.
   The pact with the teachers helped solved the first factor by bargaining to switch to the state health benefits plan. Fulltime employees will pay 1.5% of health premiums starting April 1. Employees will see that cost increase to 12% starting July 1, and go to 18% in July 2012. Teachers will also see a salary increase 1.5% for 2011-12, and 2% in 2012-13.
   If the health-care premium increase is more than 1.5% of a staffer’s salary, they would pay the lesser amount.
   Administrators said the school budget would spend on:
   • Improved security and access to schools;
   • Buying mobile Netbooks and better using wireless Internet capability installed over the last couple of years,
   • Providing $780,000 in new instructional materials and supplies;
• Building an online portal to student information that would allow parents to have up-to-the-minute access to grades, attendance and report cards.
   • Installing such items as $900,000 worth of overhead projectors that would be installed throughout all district schools, and
   • Writing up-to-date curricula, particularly in the areas of math, science and literacy this year, to meet state directives.
   The Hillsborough Education Association and school board agreement avoided privatizing 270 non-teaching jobs by the association members agreeing to pay an increasing percentage for their health care. If voters reject the tax levy to implement the budget, it faces a review and possible cut by the Township Committee. Because of that possibility, privatization remains a possibility, say school leaders.
   ”We can’t take anything off the table,” said Dr. Schiff.
   The dsitrict plans to secure access to all schools by issuing “swipe” cards to employees in all schools, and replace or add security cameras. It plans to replace the intercom system at the Triangle School.
   An online method for parents to stay on top of their children’s academic progress isn’t a new concept, Dr. Schiff said. Hillsborough is one of just four in the county not to have it, he said. He projected the system might be up and running in the spring of 2012.
   Joel Handler, technology director, said about 300 overhead projector units, each costing about $3,000, will be installed in classrooms throughout the district’s nine schools. The cost will be spread over five year-leases, with one-fifth in this year’s budget.
   Teachers connect the projectors to computers to present PowerPoint and Internet materials. Mr. Handler said it was “the most demanded technology by the staff.”
   He said two-thirds of the rooms in the high school have them, now, with 40% in the middle school and 34% in the intermediate school. Less than 20% of rooms in the six K-4 grade buildings have them, making it “a matter of equity” to provide the capability to all teachers, said Dr. Schiff.
   The “improvement of instructional services” line item more than doubles, going to $3.94 million. The school plans to spend $176,000 for curricula revisions, as well as more for testing.
   Dr. Schiff said the reminded that last year’s budget eliminated 45 teaching, five administrative and 16 other jobs, for 66 in total. The proposed budget doesn’t put any of them back, but does help restore some of the lost ground in instructional programs, equipment and training, he said.
   Total local property taxes needed to generate $78.2 million of the $104.3 operating budget will rise just less than 2%, the state-mandated maximum. The $78.2 million is 1.5 million more than the previous year, but the rise is less than one-half of the previous year, said Dr. Schiff.
   Also on the revenue side, the school will receive about $1 million more in state equalization aid compared to last year ($17.95 million versus $18.93 last year). The school will kick in $2.3 million from its “surplus” savings, about one-third of a million more than last year’s budget.
   This year only the school will also receive $873,097 in federal aid that was part of the stimulus package last year, said Schiff. It must go to jobs or training, and the superintendent said the administration will make recommendations to the school board on how to use the money so that it has maximum impact n future years.