Late Wednesday, see www.hopewellvalleynews.com for results
By Ruth Luse, Managing Editor
On Wednesday, April 27, Hopewell Valley voters will go to the polls between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. to vote on the Hopewell Valley Regional Board of Education’s 2011-21 budget proposal.
Hopewell Township voters will pick three school board members. There are five candidates for those seats (three-year terms). Hopewell Borough and Pennington Borough voters will not choose board members this year.
Township candidates are:
— Incumbent Laura Desai, of Federal City Road, who is a teacher in Hamilton Township;
— Incumbent Roy Dollard, of Elm Ridge Road, who is a retired engineer;
— Adam J. Sawicki Jr., of Caroline Drive, who is a structural engineer;
— Burton J. Sutker, of Lexington Drive, who spent over 40 years in the chemical industry;
— Jill Vaughn, of Pennington-Lawrenceville Road, who is a teacher in Lawrence Township.
The March 29 school board Candidates Night, hosted by the Valley’s League of Women Voters, was televised live on Comcast channel 19, and Verizon channel 32. Those who would like to check it out can view it Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7 p.m., and Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m. Candidate Sutker was out of town and unable to take part in the event.
THE PROPOSED SPENDING PLAN totals $72.2 million — 1.9 percent less than the 2010-11 budget of $73,612,968.
According to Superintendent Thomas Smith, the proposal “maintains and improves existing programs, keeps small class sizes, and includes needed school repairs and projects.”
Within the $72.2 million budget, just under $5 million is debt service, which, by law, must be paid and will not be subject to voter approval on April 27.
The sum of $1 million of revenue will come from grants and more than $2.4 million will come from state and federal aid.
That means Valley voters will be asked to OK a tax levy of $63,295,965 to support local schools. This is the amount that will appear on April 27 ballots.
If OK’d April 27, the budget would create an increase of 1.5 percent in the tax levy, which is below the state-mandated cap of 2 percent.
— In Hopewell Township, approval of a budget calling for a 8-cent tax rate increase would bring a tax rate of $1.35 per $100 of assessed property value. This would mean a total school tax bill for 2011-12 of $6,750 for a house assessed at $500,000. That would be an increase of $400 over 2010-11.
— In Hopewell Borough, a 5-cent tax rate increase would bring the rate to $1.23 per $100 of assessed property value. For a borough residence assessed at $500,000, this tax rate would bring a total 2011-12 school tax bill of $6,150. That would be up $250 over last year.
— In Pennington, a 4-cent tax rate increase would yield a school tax rate of $1.37 per $100 of assessed value. For a Pennington house assessed at $500,000, the rate would bring a 2011-12 tax bill of $6,850, up $200 from 2010-11.
”How this (the proposed tax levy) impacts your taxes depends on your home,” said Dr. Smith. “Some people will see their taxes go down, some will stay the same and some will see an increase.”
THE BUDGET includes the reduction of 17 positions. Five of the instructional positions are in elementary grades, and are due to falling enrollment, resulting in fewer class sections. Also eliminated will be five paraprofessional positions; two positions in “specials” classes, such as art, music or languages; two secretarial positions; two custodial positions, and 1.75 administrators.
The budget will preserve average student class sizes in the low 20s throughout the district while adding a new pre-engineering program at the middle school, and expanding advanced level reading and math classes to third grade. These programs now begin in fourth grade. The high school also will implement a new schedule next year, according to Dr. Smith.
The school district’s five bargaining units — HVASA (administrators and supervisors), HVEA (teachers), HVDSA (directors/supervisors of transportation and facilities), HVESPA (custodians/maintenance, support staff, secretaries) and HVNAA (network technicians) — all have contracts that expire on June 30. “Not having contracts in place (when finalizing a budget) does provide a bit of an unknown for the district,” Robert Colavita, board secretary/business administrator, said recently. “That being said, we have budgeted as per the goals of the board of education and in accordance with state guidelines and caps and have protected the district’s interests in regard to possible contract settlements.”
In New Jersey, the fiscal year for school districts runs from July 1 to June 30, as opposed to that of municipal governments, which runs from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31.
UNDER STATE LAW, if voters do not approve the budget April 27, it would be sent to the Valley’s three governing bodies, which would have the option of cutting the budget or leaving it intact. If they decide to cut, they could decide on a dollar amount. But, if they suggest an area or areas for cutting, school officials could consider recommendations, but would not be bound by the municipal officials’ suggestions.
If municipal officials decide to cut, but cannot agree on the amount by which the budget is to be cut, that decision would be made by the state.
If the municipalities do agree on an amount, the district could cut the spending plan by that dollar figure. But, if the school board disputes the suggested reduction, the county superintendent of schools (on behalf of the education commissioner) would schedule a combined meeting to reach an agreement. If no agreement is reached, the school board could file an application for restoration.
More voter information is available at 1-800-792-VOTE, or on the web at www.lwvnj.org.

