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."
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."
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