BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer
JACKSON – Residents who went to the polls on April 18 rejected the Board of Education’s proposed budget for the 2006-07 school year by a margin of 1,574 votes.
The $127.6 million budget was defeated by a count of 3,755 no votes to 2,181 yes votes. Voters said no to the $61.1 million tax levy proposed by the board.
The budget would have increased the school tax rate by 15.95 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The owner of a home assessed at $200,000 would have seen his school taxes increase by $319 next year under that proposal.
The budget will now be reviewed by the Township Committee which can leave the spending plan as the board proposed or negotiate with the board for an amount by which the budget can be reduced.
“Needless to say, I am very disappointed the budget was not approved,” school board President Linda Lackay said. “This is a difficult time for many residents of Jackson, who feel the pinch of rising national energy costs, the tenuous fiscal crisis of our state government, the uncertainty of a pending home revaluation in Jackson and a new form of local government in our town, with elections scheduled for the first week of May.”
Lackay said recent reports of misuse and abuse of funds by public officials only adds to the suspicion and mistrust that clouds all public entities even if doubt is not warranted.
“As our community continues to grow, so do the needs of our school district,” Lackay said. “Jackson Liberty High School is ready to open this September, providing much needed relief from severe overcrowding at Jackson Memorial High School. The costs associated with building Jackson Liberty remain under budget; however, the operating costs, which include moving students and staff into the building while initiating the programs associated with a high school, account for half of the defeated budget.”
Lackay said the board is committed to continuing its effort to provide every child with the educational tools necessary to succeed within the ever-constricting parameters of decreasing state aid.
“Five years of flat educational state aid has left Jackson residents to shoulder a disproportionate share of public school revenue,” said the president. “As the chairperson of the school district’s Legislative Committee, I urge all Jackson residents to contact their state representatives and let their voices be heard. Flat state aid is discriminatory in growing communities like Jackson, which are actually receiving a decrease in aid due to their increasing student population.”
Lackay said she hopes the district’s administrators and board members will work cooperatively with the Township Committee to reach a sound solution on the budget that considers the needs of the entire community.
Also on April 18, three incumbents were re-elected to three-year terms on the school board. John Morvay, 2,926 votes, Marvin Krakower, 2,758 votes, and Martin Spielman, 2,644 votes, were successful in their bids for office. Sal Duscio, 2,585 votes, and Nicholas Antonoff, 2,502 votes, were unsuccessful in their bids for a seat on the board.
The board will hold its reorganization meeting on May 2.