By JACQUELINE DURETT
Correspondent
EDISON — Board of Education member Theresa Ward wants the district to withdraw its membership in the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA).
She shared her thoughts with the board at the June 15 caucus meeting, referring to her request to discuss the issue as her “annual appeal.” Edison is not receiving services worth the $26,770 annual dues it pays to the NJSBA, she said, in addition to thousands on top of that for conference and workshop attendance. However, all school districts are required to be members.
At the board’s action meeting on June 20, Ward was the sole dissenter on a resolution renewing membership.
Frank Belluscio, deputy executive director of the NJSBA, said he feels there is value to membership. He points to benefits such as consulting and legal services, advocacy, required training and policy resources as services included in the annual fee. He said the NJSBA has also saved school districts $220 million from 2009-2017 in electricity and natural gas through its energy-purchasing program.
Ward counters that Edison cannot and does not use many of the services NJSBA provides because of its size. She said the board uses private services instead.
“We choose to go private because we get better service,” she said, pointing to a superintendent search years ago in which she said the NJSBA sourced seven candidates, none of whom were qualified for the position.
Ward said she felt participation should be optional in the association.
“We have no way out,” she said, of what she felt was essentially a tax on the school district. She said she has reached out to other districts about whether they would be interested in advocating for change. She said she received nominal interest from Highland Park, but more from Woodbridge.
As for dues, Belluscio said, those are determined by a structure that has been in place in 2003 and are calculated as a percentage of a district’s current budget.
“Dues are limited to no more than one-tenth of 1 percent of a district’s budget. Most boards pay closer to one-twentieth of 1 percent.” Belluscio pointed out that the 2016-2017 school year will be the seventh consecutive without a dues increase.
Edison’s school budget is $234 million, and Edison is the fifth-largest school district in the state. According to the NJSBA 2016-2017 budget, dues will make up $7.1 million of its $10.5 million in anticipated revenue. The average dues per school board is $12,245. Overhead costs, according to the budget, are anticipated to be $8.8 million for this school year.
Ward would also like to have more insight into how the NJSBA uses its money. She said she requested a detailed breakdown of various budget categories, but has not received any. More importantly, she just wants the requirement to participate in the NJSBA to be eliminated.
“I would just like out,” she said.