Towns approve $750K cut to school budget
BY TOM CAIAZZA
Staff Writer

ABERDEEN - A $750,000 cut to the defeated Matawan-Aberdeen Regional school budget was approved by both town councils on May 16.

The councils were presented with a $43,144,422 proposed general fund from which they were requested to make cuts. The cut would bring the general fund total to $42,394,422.

According to Craig Lorentzen, assistant business administrator for the district, the tax rate increase will drop 3 cents in Aberdeen and 2.75 cents in Matawan. The new tax rate increases are 15.24 cents in Aberdeen and 12.91 cents in Matawan. The owner of a house assessed at $150,000 would pay $228 or $193 more in property taxes per year, respectively.

Voters defeated the proposed $59 million budget on April 18 by a margin of 660 votes. It was the fifth time the budget was defeated in as many years, leading the two councils to yet again come to a consensus over the amount to cut.

Carolyn Williams, the newly installed board president, was satisfied with the number cut from the budget.

"It was a good number for us," Williams said. "It keeps us from eliminating programs we have in place."

Williams said the school board approached the two councils with a number and asked, "Can we agree on this or do we have to debate longer?"

More than half of the reduction comes from cuts in the prescription and dental coverage for district employees, cuts in budgeted utilities such as natural gas and $150,000 in budgeted surplus.

The remainder comes from the money gained through attrition, or the savings by replacing older, higher-paid teachers with lower-paid teachers. The total amount saved by the district through retirement and replacement staff attrition is nearly $300,000.

According to both the Matawan and Aberdeen resolutions approving the budget cuts, only one program will be cut from the budget. The alternative school that was proposed to eliminate the need to send students out of the district will not happen this year.

Williams, though disappointed, said there is always next year.

"I am a little disappointed," Williams said of cutting the alternative school. "I feel our kids need to stay in our community. We send them out and we don't know what curriculum they are getting."

Aberdeen Township Manager Stuart Brown said that the cuts would not affect the level of education, and that the number of students who would have benefited from the alternative school was lower than had been expected.

Paul Buccellato, Matawan Borough councilman and chairman of the Education Committee for the Borough Council, said that the change would not affect education programs.

"We felt the cuts we made were reasonable," Buccellato said. He said that the cuts would not affect programs or after-school programs, which he said were very important for a balanced education.

The Board of Education sat down with each town's leaders separately to hash out the budget reduction, a point of contention for Buccellato, who said the Aberdeen Township Council refused to work together.

During roll call for his vote on the budget cuts, Buccellato said, "This is the fourth year the budget has been defeated, and the fourth time Aberdeen officials refused to meet with the governing body of Matawan regarding the budget defeat; and my vote is yes."

Brown said that he and Matawan Borough Administrator Fred Carr were in contact with each other throughout the process.

"Everybody worked from the same information," Brown said. "Fred Carr and I made sure we all had the same information the other side had."

School budgets might be taken off the ballot
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 05/10/06
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TRENTON — April school elections would be moved to November, but New Jersey voters would lose their say on school budgets under long-discussed legislation that has finally received serious interest from lawmakers and the governor.

Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts Jr., D-Camden, is expected to announce support for school election changes today, and a Senate committee is slated to consider them on Thursday. Gov. Corzine on Tuesday expressed interest in moving school elections toNovember.

"Given the consistently low turnout in school elections, we need to be looking at ways to encourage voter participation, and this idea is worthy of consideration and debate," Corzine spokesman Brendan Gilfillan said.

The movement comes after a mere 15.7 percent of registered voters cast ballots in last month's school elections. Voters approved 53 percent of local school budgets, the lowest approval rate since 1994.

Roberts will announce his plan as part of a proposal to promote shared services and regionalization by municipalities and school districts, spokesman Joe Donnelly said.

"He supports changing New Jersey's system of school elections due to the state's low participation rates and expense of holding separate elections," Donnelly said.

Sen. Shirley Turner, D-Mercer, chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, said this year's school elections prompted her to finally schedule a hearing on a proposal that has been floating around for years.

"We need to provide a greater opportunity to participate in the process," said Turner, who said she also wouldn't oppose moving school elections to the June primary election.

School budgets generally constitute most local government spending, which is funded via property taxes. They're also the only major spending plans subject to direct approval by voters.

Turner said her bill would subject school budgets to voter approval only if the proposed spending plans exceed state mandated caps that limit school spending increases to 2.5 percent or the inflation rate, whichever is greater.

Eliminating voter approval of budgets should mollify school officials who oppose moving the April elections to November, Turner said.

Court upholds aid freeze to 31 districts
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 05/10/06
BY GREGORY J. VOLPE
GANNETT STATE BUREAU

TRENTON — The state Supreme Court has given Gov. Corzine permission to "flat fund" the state's most economically disadvantaged districts in the upcoming school year.

In an order released Tuesday, the court unanimously upheld Corzine's budget proposal that freezes state aid for 2006-07 at this year's figure — $4.25 billion — to the 31 districts covered by the Abbott v. Burke school-funding-equity case. The court also sided with Corzine's call to raise local levies in eight Abbott districts with property tax rates less than half the state average.

In the Abbotts' favor, the court gave them the right to appeal for more money and ordered the state to conduct audits and program evaluations.

Richard Shapiro, a lawyer who represented several districts, said it was important that the court preserved districts' rights.

"I see it as still afford-ing the opportunity . . . to get needed funding if they can make that showing," Shapiro said. "I think it's important to preserve the districts' right to do that."

Long Branch Schools Superintendent Joseph M. Ferraina said the decision doesn't really affect his district because it hadn't asked for additional aid.

"One of the most important impacts the Abbott funding has had on districts is it has drastically improved the performance of children," Ferraina said. "I think the Supreme Court was looking to give the state a little breather. I think things work out the best possible way through the district and the state Department of Education without involving the courts."

Asbury Park court case

Asbury Park Board of Education President Robert DiSanto said the district is continuing its court fight to get the funding it needs in a case with other districts filed after the state asked the board to raise the tax levy. The board did not.

DiSanto said Shapiro will speak to the board and the public at Thursday's regular 7 p.m. meeting.

In Keansburg, Robert S. Finger, business administrator and board secretary, described the state Supreme Court decision in one word: Shameful.

Finger said his district — whose total budget was slated to grow to $44.32 million in the 2006-07 school year — may consider cutting programs or dropping its emergency surplus from $650,000 to about $100,000 to operate under the proposed "flat-funding" cuts.

"We may have to bring it (the surplus) down to under $100,000 and that's dangerous," Finger said. "We're using our money, that we in theory are required to keep for emergencies."

Finger also took exception to the phrase "flat funding."

He said the term doesn't apply because Abbott districts won't be getting their 2005-06 levels of state funding in the 2006-07 year. They could be receiving the 2005-06 funding, minus money the state removed midyear for early childhood education costs and other items.

In Keansburg, that money adds up, Finger said.

"We lost a little over a million dollars (through the midyear adjustments)," he said. "We're not flat funded. And that point was raised to the Supreme Court. They chose to overlook that."

New funding formula

Corzine, who attended last week's Supreme Court hearing, has pledged more accountability and a new funding system for public education.

"Our focus will be to get resources to the children," Corzine said in a prepared statement. "We must meet their needs and prepare them for the challenges they face after graduation. Only when that goal is met, and not a moment sooner, will we have achieved a victory."

The Supreme Court ordered the state to complete audits of the Newark, Jersey City, Paterson and Camden districts by November and the remaining Abbott districts in time for 2007-08 budget proposals. The court also ordered programmatic evaluations — a sign that Abbott reform is not limited to money, said David Sciarra, executive director of the Education Law Center.

"The court has made a very strong statement about state accountability for performance to these children," Sciarra said.

The order was released the day Abbott funding dominated an Assembly Budget Committee hearing.

Corzine's stance with the Abbott districts has brought praise from political opponents.

"This is a positive initial first step . . . toward an inevitable, but necessary, Abbott reform and change of the school funding formula," said Sen. Joseph M. Kyrillos Jr., R-Monmouth.

Senate Education Committee chairwoman Shirley Turner, D-Mercer, said districts, rich and poor, need to adjust spending, given the state's fiscal problems.

Other school district officials around the state painted dire pictures.

"I'm shocked and disappointed," said Philip Freeman, the Camden school board president, who indicated layoffs will have to be considered. "I think it's going to cause extreme hardship for Camden and other Abbott school districts."

Mary Stansky, Gloucester City superintendent of schools and president of Urban Superintendents of New Jersey, issued a statement saying flat funding is really a $1 million cut for her district.

"Unfortunately, after measurable progress, the rug has been pulled out from under us and we will not be able to meet (state) mandates," Stansky said. "Subsequent years will prove to be quite dismal for our schools and our students."

Education Commissioner Lucille Davy said districts can make cuts without affecting education.