Superintendent says certain budget items were not deemed necessary by the state and had to be placed separately in order to be included in Washington.
By: Frank C. D’Amico
WASHINGTON – In addition to the annual school budget, voters will be asked to approve two funding questions on the April 17 ballot.
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The proposed budget, including debt service, for the 2001-02 school year is $16.5 million, an increase of 6.3 percent from the current one.
State regulations mandate how much a budget can increase without adding questions to the ballot. Superintendent Paul Harren said certain budget items were not deemed necessary by the state and had to be placed as separate questions in order to be included in the district.
The first question asks voters to approve an additional $1.64 million to pay for guidance, athletics, extracurricular activities and 16 teachers, which all were deemed by the state as "not required for a thorough and efficient education," a district newsletter said.
If the question is approved, it would keep the district’s two guidance counselors and add a part-time guidance counselor.
Mr. Harren said he wanted to keep the Guidance Department.
"In this day and age, guidance is absolutely vital," he said.
The question would include a total of $90,000 for soccer, field hockey, basketball, baseball, softball, drama club, yearbook club and enrichment club activities in the district.
In addition to the 16 teachers, a Pond Road Middle School vice principal, a nurse, textbooks, technology upgrades, equipment, supplies and furniture would be included in the $1.64 million question.
Eight teachers for grades 1-5, one part-time and four full-time teachers at Pond Road Middle School, a kindergarten teacher, two resource center teachers, one part-time teacher and one full-time teacher for art and drama, and one teacher for language and learning disabled instruction will be added under this provision if it is approved.
Mr. Harren said class sizes would be increased if the new teachers could not be hired.
The second additional question concerns groundwork for the district’s plan to open a high school in the township in 2005. The question asks voters to approve $197,000 to add an assistant superintendent and a part-time curriculum supervisor.
A building referendum still has to be approved by voters before any construction on a high school could begin. The money for the assistant superintendent and the curriculum supervisor would be placed on hold and hiring would be done if the referendum passes, Mr. Harren said.
If the referendum fails, the money for the two positions could be used for budget relief in the future.
Mr. Harren said the two questions on the ballot aren’t extraneous, but necessary to maintain the district’s current level of education.