Superintendent makes presentation at meeting
By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
Schools Superintendent Jorden Schiff crisply moved through a slide presentation on the proposed $113.8 million school budget for the Township Committee on Tuesday night.
Then he asked for questions.
Silence.
Dr. Schiff added more information could be read on the school district website.
That answered Committeeman Frank DelCore’s question, who added he thought it was a good idea the school and the township government could come together and communicate on such things.
Deputy Mayor Gloria McCauley added as a parting note she was happy to see the proposed budget well below cap.
”Kudos for that,” she said.
The school budget goes Tuesday for the voters’ blessing or rejection of the $78.8 million tax levy. Three board members also will be elected. Polls are open from 2 to 9 p.m.
As he has done at school board meetings and before parent groups, Dr. Schiff detailed the budget that calls for adding 18 teacher and four tech staff positions and spending about $508,000 on facilities repairs and improvements and about $1 million to rewrite and implement curriculum updates.
The budget includes one of five lease-purchase payments of nearly $316,000 for about 750 laptop tablet computers for immediate teachers’ use.
Because of more state aid and higher contributions from staff for health-care costs, it also results in just a 0.6 percent tax rate increase. The board estimates the “average” house in the township, assessed at $368,700, will pay $37 more for the 2012-13 school budget.
The board has characterized the budget as bringing the school partially back from 2011-12 cuts when 66.5 staff positions were eliminated when state aid was slashed.
The final proposal stays $975,430 under the allowable 2 percent property tax increase. The budget benefits from about $2.7 million more state aid in the last two years when compared to the 2011-12 budgeted aid.
A list of what facilities improvements are planned in the new budget as well as how staffing positions have been added or are planned is on the school website as well as a line-by-line copy of the budget.
Dr. Schiff’s conclusion at the end of the presentation was the budget “is not just maintaining but improving the quality of educational experience for our students.”