LAWRENCE: Schools cut budget by $500,000

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   Complying with a directive from Township Council, the Lawrence Township Board of Education unanimously adopted a revised 2012-13 operating budget Tuesday that reduced the $67.1 million spending plan by $500,000.
   The revision shrinks the 2012-13 budget from $67.1 million to $66.6 million. It also reduces the tax levy to support that budget by $500,000 — from $58 million to $57.5 million. The changes were necessary because township voters rejected the proposed tax levy of $58 million at last month’s annual school board election.
   State law calls for Township Council to review the school district’s defeated budget and make recommended changes, but the school board does not have to adhere to those changes — just the dollar amount of the cuts.
   Township Council met with the school board at a special joint meeting April 30 and initially outlined $700,549 in cuts, including dipping in the school district’s reserve funds. After some discussion, it was agreed to trim the budget by $500,000.
   The reduction in the budget, and the tax levy to support it, shaves 1 cent off the proposed 3-cent increase in the school district property tax. The tax rate was set to increase from $2.33 per $100 of assessed value to $2.36. The new tax rate is $2.35.
   At the revised rate of $2.35, the owner of a house assessed at $94,896 will pay $2,230 in school district taxes, which is a $9 savings. The owner of a house assessed at $346,870 will pay $8,151, for a savings of $35.
   Thomas Eldridge, the school district’s business administrator, told the school board Tuesday that the $500,000 in cuts made by school district officials were “not exactly in line” with the cuts recommended by Township Council at the joint meeting last week. No staff layoffs are included in the revised budget.
   The school board, which sent a list of $375,000 in proposed cuts to Township Council in advance of the April 30 meeting, declined the council’s recommendation to dip into its reserve funds.
   To reach the $500,000 mark, the district and the school board adhered to its original cuts of $375,000 — plus a $75,000 decrease in the electrical budget because of a favorable bid, and a savings of $55,000 resulting from a decision not to fill a vacant janitorial position.
   The school board’s original recommendations included delaying replacement of the press box at the athletic field house to save $60,000, and deferring the replacement of the video screen in the Lawrence High School auditorium to save $10,000.
   Districtwide, the supplies budget was cut by $119,451 and the professional development budget and related expenditures for teachers was reduced by $8,600. An assistant principal’s slot at Lawrence High School has been reduced from a 12-month position to a 10-month job, saving $50,000.
   Mr. Eldridge also noted that the revisions means the 2012-13 operating budget is $1 million under the state-mandated 2-percent tax levy cap. It was already $500,000 under the cap when it was sent to the voters for their approval, he said.
   After Mr. Eldridge completed his review of the budget cuts, school board member Jo Ann Groeger praised him for being “fiscally responsible” and ahead of the curve, and for helping to keep the school board on task.
   School board member Leon Kaplan said he would like to compliment the administration “for acting so promptly, twice, and (for) never losing sight of the fact that we are in business to educate the children, first and foremost.”
   Mr. Eldridge replied that he is in his 15th year of working as a school district business administrator and that for the past four years, this school board has never wavered from its goals. Previous school boards had set new goals every year, but this board has kept the same focus, he said.