WEST AMWELL: South budget has its ups and downs

By Cynthia Williamson, Special Writer
   WEST AMWELL — South Hunterdon Regional High School unveiled a proposed 2011-12 school year budget that calls for a slight increase in spending.
   At the same time, it is anticipated that projected revenues will fall more than 6 percent over the current year’s budget.
   ”It’s a responsible budget,” Superintendent Nancy Gartenberg said, following a March 24 hearing. “We’re pleased with what we have been able to accomplish.”
   When school elections and budget votes are held April 27, a referendum on the ballot will ask voters to approve spending up to $50,000 for a study on regionalization of the high school and its three sending schools into a K-12 district of approximately 870 students.
   It is a concept that has been debated for decades but a reason it has never come to fruition is because the county or state education departments declined to earmark funding for a study, Ms. Gartenberg said.
   UNDER THE SPENDING SIDE of the budget, South Hunterdon would allocate $8.41 million toward operating expenses for an increase of 1.03 percent or $85,211.
   The total $10.09 million budget would be supported with a $7,929,856 tax levy, which would rise 1.5 percent or $117,190, under the proposed spending plan.
   The district anticipates receiving $355,465 in state financial aid, which is up 32 percent over the current year’s budget, but still $267,000 less than what was allocated to the district in the 2009-10 school year.
   It would receive another $128,301 in other aid, which is down 6.2 percent when compared to the current spending plan.
   The proposed budget would allocate $1,607,592 toward payment of principal and interest on debt service, which was approved by voters in 2005. The district would use $11,703 from interest on surplus and anticipated state aid to reduce the tax levy burden on taxpayers.
   After the budget was defeated last year, Ms. Gartenberg said the district formed a municipal work group with representatives from each of its sending schools. The group met regularly throughout the year to determine ways it could trim costs while also supporting the district’s goals.
   Some of the measures it has implemented have included increasing class sizes and eliminating electives, clubs and athletic programs where participation is less than 10 students.
   ”We told the teachers that if they wanted a club and receive a stipend, then they had to get students involved,” Ms. Gartenberg said.
   Winter cheerleading, for example, was dropped from the program because there was not sufficient interest, she said.
   In addition, the district eliminated department chairs and began assessing a fee to students for school-sponsored field trips. It also reduced the number of sixth block classes by seven for a savings of about $60,000, she said.
   Administrative costs also were reduced by combining job descriptions. Assistant Principal Mary Robinson Cohen is guidance director as well as supervisor of curriculum and instruction.
   ”It really has been a very successful process,” Ms. Gartenberg said.
   Those cost-cutting measures are in addition to steps the district had already taken to shave $171,000 off expenses after the budget was defeated last April.
   The district hopes to save money on utility costs in the near future. Together with Lambertville and West Amwell, the district formed a renewable energy cooperative that would use solar power to offset utility costs.
   It is estimated that once the solar installation is up and running, the district could slash utility bills as much as $70,000 a year, according to board member Don Seiter.
   IF THE PROPOSED SPENDING PLAN is approved by voters, Lambertville’s share would decrease slightly while property owners in West Amwell and Stockton would pay more to support the regional school budget.
   —In Lambertville, property owners would pay 68.01 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, down from 69.8 cents in the current budget. The tax bill for a house assessed at the city average of $357,800 would drop $64.08.
   — In West Amwell, the cost per $100 of assessed valuation would be 66.82 cents, for an increase of 5.94 cents over the current spending plan. If the budget is approved, a house assessed at the township average of $456,213, would pay $271 more for regional school taxes.
   — In Stockton, the cost per $100 of assessed valuation would be 60.56 cents, for an increase of 9.98 cents over the current budget. A house assessed at the borough average of $373,504, would pay $372.72 more to support the high school.
   More than 60 percent of the district’s operating expenses are allocated to education costs and teacher’s salaries (30.4 percent), special education (17.2 percent) and health benefits (13.5 percent).
   The remainder of expenses are earmarked for support services (9.8 percent), maintenance (9.7 percent), transportation (8.3 percent), administration (6.4 percent) and athletics/extracurricular activities (4.7 percent).
   When school board elections and budget votes take place April 27, polls in Stockton and West Amwell will be open between 3 and 9 p.m., while polls in Lambertville will open earlier, at 7 a.m., due to a special city referendum on the ballot regarding trash collection.