Three local school budgets nixed

South’s regionalization study is approved

By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
   For the fourth consecutive year, South Hunterdon Regional High School’s budget failed to win voter approval on April 27, but voters supported spending $50,000 for a regionalization feasibility study.
   The feasibility study was approved 726-615. It will look at whether South Hunterdon and its three elementary sending districts should form one K-12 district of about 870 students.
   South Hunterdon’s budget failed 734-598. The seven-12 district had proposed a total budget of $10.9 million that would have been supported by a $7,929,856 tax levy, an increase of 1.5 percent or $117,190. The tax impact would have varied by municipality.
   It will fall now to the governing bodies of the three sending districts — Lambertville, West Amwell and Stockton — to determine an amount to cut from the budget. Municipal officials also have the option of recommending the budget be kept intact. If municipal officials recommend slashing the budget, it is left to the school board to determine in which areas to make the cuts.
   Superintendent Nancy Gartenberg said she is “disappointed” by the budget defeat, and she believes it is a sign of the financial difficulties families are facing as the country’s economy struggles.
   ”I do not see it as a lack of support for our school, I see the opposite with this year’s vote,” she said. “We had more ‘yes’ votes than past years and the feasibility study was a success.
   ”What is important for people to know is that now that we’re selected as a Choice District we are attracting students from neighboring towns. The more kids that we can attract, the more the budget will be offset by state aid, and the further reduced our per-pupil cost will be. We are below $20,000 per pupil for the first time in many, many years. This demonstrates our sensitivity to the economic times.”
   She noted the school’s ongoing effort to achieve accreditation from the Middle States Association, its small class sizes and its rating for four consecutive years as one of the top high schools in the state by New Jersey Monthly magazine.
   Ms. Gartenberg said, “Families with children will be attracted to our area, but only if we continue to have quality schools. My fear is that people will be unwilling to even consider the area due to the consistent budget defeats. Good school districts are an anchor in any community. When people move out of a community, those homes must be inhabited. A failure to support the local district truly affects the overall perception of the community and detracts from the likelihood that people will move there.”
   — OF SOUTH’S THREE SENDING DISTRICTS, only Lambertville Public School won voter approval of its budget, 408-337. Approval of the $3,059,072 tax levy means a school tax increase of about $42 for the average city homeowner.
   The tax levy’s 3-percent increase over last year is largely attributable to increased enrollment, according to the school board. The tax rate will be 42.7 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. For the owner of a house assessed at the current average of $357,866, the tax bill will 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.
   — The Stockton Borough School’s budget was defeated for the second consecutive year, 63-52. The school board proposed a 2-percent increase in the tax levy to support the school, for a total levy of $649,709. Now it will be up to the Borough Council whether to keep the budget intact or recommend an amount to cut.
   The 13 write-in votes for incumbent Stockton school board member David Pasicznyk provided the only surprise in any of the local school board contests.
   Candidates in all local districts ran unopposed except in Stockton, where no one was on the ballot for an open school board seat. Mr. Pasicznyk declined to seek re-election and no one else stepped up to run. Mr. Pasicznyk said he would accept the nomination and continue to serve.
   If the small, historic school’s budget had passed, it would have meant an almost $25 increase for taxpayers in the borough, based on property assessment figures provided by Michele Hovan, borough clerk. However, if calculated as recommended by the school board, the tax increase would have amounted to about $41 for the average homeowner. The tax rate for 2011-12 would have been 68.35 cents per $100 of assessed value, up from the current 67.25 cents.
   —West Amwell Township Elementary School’s budget was defeated by 23 votes, 238-215. Last year the school’s budget gained approval by just 2 votes.
   The proposed budget would have increased taxes by 2 percent with a tax levy of $3,790,114 on a total budget of $4,286,956. The proposed tax rate of 70.4 cents per $100 of assessed valuation would have meant a tax bill increase of about $50, or a total of $3,211.74, for the owner of a house assessed at the township average of $456,213.
   — In the uncontested races for South’s school board, Nicole Claus, of West Amwell, received 269 votes. Cheryl Carpenter and Dan Seiter, both of Lambertville, received 404 and 387 votes, respectively.
   At LPS, incumbent John Livingston received 377 votes to serve on the school board; Anna Nicolas, 377; and incumbent Nancy Kienzler, 361.
   At West Amwell, Kevin Snyder received 304 votes to serve on the school board; Christine Baker, 289; and incumbent Aaron Balog, 276.