MONROE: School board, council agree on $1M in budget cuts

By David Kilby, Staff Writer
   MONROE — The Monroe Township Board of Education and Township Council agreed on more than $1 million in cuts — including the elimination of 32 full- and part-time jobs — from the defeated school budget Monday, decreasing the tax burden by about $24 per year.
   Due to the cuts made Monday, the new tax rate is $2.399 per $100 of assessed valuation.
   The proposed budget for the 2011-12 school year, defeated 3,387 to 2,262 April 27, was $102,926,020 with a tax rate of $2.413, a 20-cent increase from the 2010-11 budget. The second question on whether full-day kindergarten should be offered at a cost of $777,237 was defeated 3,606 to 1,802.
   With the new tax rate of $2.399, agreed upon Monday, an owner of a house assessed at the average of $169,399 will pay $4,063.88 in school taxes in 2011-12, about $344 more than in 2010-11.
   ”We have created a budget that is $600,000 below cap in effort to try to demonstrate to our public that we are in fact being responsible,” Dr. Kenneth Hamilton, superintendent, said Monday before the $1 million in cuts were agreed upon.
   Dr. Hamilton and Michael Gorski, school business administrator, proposed the $1 million in cuts to the council Monday, and the council accepted them.
   Mr. Gorski said the district will save an additional $100,000 on gas and $30,000 on electric this upcoming school year, due to a recent decrease in the market price for natural gas. The district’s electric is supplied by a natural gas plant.
   ”Fortunately, our district doesn’t rely heavily on oil,” he said. “There’s a surplus of natural gas, which has caused us to enjoy $100,000” in natural gas savings.
   At the special meeting Monday, the school district also cut nine full-time bus drivers who take children to extracurricular activities, saving about $250,000.
   ”Parents will still be able to transport their children, which they did about five or six years ago,” Dr. Hamilton said.
   Those nine positions were among the 32 full- and part-time jobs cut Monday night, including four paraprofessionals in the learning disabilities department, five regular bus driver positions, one transportation mechanic, one assisting teaching position, 10 part-time paraprofessionals and two teacher positions.
   These cuts and reductions amount to $575,123 savings in salaries and $335,195 savings from the benefits connected to those salaries.
   When including the savings in gas and electric, the total amount cut from the defeated budget on Monday was $1,040,318.
   ”We believe (the proposed budget) was defeated because of the 20-cent increase in the tax rate,” Mr. Gorski later said to The Cranbury Press. “Had we received the average state aid the same district factor groups received, it would have reduced the 20 cents by 12 cents, making the tax rate increase only 8 cents. That would have been a $140 increase (from last year). That would have passed, but because we got shortchanged by the state, the burden had to go to taxpayers.”
   He added, “The school budget is the only place taxpayers can express their discontent on taxes in general.”
   Dr. Hamilton took the opportunity to explain how Monroe schools are undefended by the state.
   He said the average “FG” district, the high-middle class category the state places Monroe in, receives $1,869 per student in state aid whereas Monroe receives $204 per student.
   He said Old Bridge receives about $4,000 per student, North Brunswick receives $1,000 per student, Edison receives $700 per student, and Piscataway receives $1,800 per student.
   Patrick Flynn, of Crooked Stick Place, said Monroe shouldn’t be comparing itself to other districts.
   ”I remember when I came home with a bad report card, I would say to my parents, ‘Well, you know Johnny got a D in that subject, and Billy got a C- so my C isn’t that bad,” he said. “They had an interesting response. They said ‘We don’t care about anybody else. We care about you. What are you going to do with what you’ve been given?’”
   He added, “I think this community shouldn’t be comparing to other communities. You haven’t gotten the message. The people in Washington haven’t got the message. People in Trenton haven’t gotten the message. I think the message is clear: Do more with less. We hope this message goes all the way to Washington.”
   He also said the school district is listening to teachers and students more than taxpayers.
   ”Life isn’t fair,” said Tom Nothstein, of Nathaniel Street, adding he’s tired of hearing how Monroe school district is underfunded by the state.
   ”Last year, the board unanimously passed a 4 percent raise for teachers,” he said. “There’s very little confidence that the board is working for our benefit.”
   ”The board has been adamant about making significant strides to reverse a pattern of raises that exceed what the board can fund,” Dr. Hamilton said.
   He added the board is in the process of assigning a mediator to negotiate with the teachers union.
   In addition to saying Monroe is underfunded, Dr. Hamilton said 230 additional students are predicted for next year, 13 percent of which would be special needs students.
   Dr. Hamilton said many homeowners choose Monroe because they have children who can benefit from the school district’s special needs program.
   ”We have to create a sense of urgency about what’s important to our district and what our future will look like,” Dr. Hamilton said, adding that the cuts the district is making now are cutting into programs and services.
   ”I want (my three children) to get an education that’ll prepare them to get into a good college,” said Kathy Slomian, of Mayberry Avenue. “It’s more competitive today, We have to come together. I commend the board for the time it took to educate the public on the budget items. We are one of the most excellent systems in the state.”
   Paul Gentile, of Jamesburg, said he isn’t a taxpayer in Monroe, but is a customer since he has a child who goes to the high school.
   ”I’m not an advocate for more taxes, but the well is dry,” he said.
   He said a large tax increase may seem bad, but not as bad as a 10 to 20 percent decrease in property value if there isn’t a school system that continues to excel.
   ”Our PTO did vote in support of our budget,” said Chrissy Skurbe, of Sentinel Court, and president of the Oak Tree PTO. “Where the majority of parents do vote, the budget did pass. The budget was defeated in retirement communities.”
   Comments from the public went back and forth between supporting the budget and not supporting it.
   ”Respect should be given to constructive criticism,” said Michele Armenio, of Nathaniel Street.
   ”There’s disrespect for people’s legitimate concerns,” she said, adding she remembers last year when a woman gave an in-depth analysis of where she believed the budget could be cut, and she was yelled at by an unspecified board member.
   ”All of our residents want what’s best for our community,” Monroe Mayor Richard Pucci said. “In many instances, we have seniors moving in who have fixed incomes, and their investments are no longer there.”
   He added, “I know for one that seniors may be forced, for reasons paramount to them, to vote no on the budget.”
   He said Monroe Township has come a long way since he started as mayor 23 years ago. At that time, he said Monroe schools were 18th out of 25 districts in Middlesex County.
   ”Now we’re in the top 25 percent. Of course, there’s an expense to that,” he said.