With the school district ready to open the doors of its second elementary school expansion shortly, administrators may find themselves cutting back on teachers to fill the classrooms if projected spending numbers are high at the school budget’s official unveiling on March 26.
Although board member and finance committee chairman Michael Pesci said he did not yet have the final numbers, he said the budget looked grim.
“The finance committee has set up the timeline for this year’s budget,” Pesci said. “We’re taking in the preliminary numbers for this year, and I’m worried.”
The board set up a special meeting scheduled for Thursday, March 14 to release the tentative budget so that it would be submitted to the County Superintendent of Schools for review. The final figures were not available by press time.
“It’s going to be terrible,” said board member Tom Troyer, who is also a member of the finance committee, during a later telephone interview. “We’re probably going to have to lay off teachers.”
Board President Paul Amico, however, said the finance committee would not be able to determine if layoffs would be necessary until after its meeting on March 14.
“We’re trying to keep it within the spending cap,” he said.
Last year, school officials had expressed little fear when they attempted to secure a $1.4 million increase in spending – an effort voters rejected, later causing the Town Council to cut $250,000 from the failed budget. This was the largest single cut in the history of the Secaucus school system.
While lucrative raises given to the school’s superintendent, principals and other top administrative staff did not add a significant amount to the total budget, Troyer said this created a damaging precedent leading into this year’s negotiations with teachers.
“In that way, the raises have an impact on our new budget,” Troyer said. “We don’t have all the figures yet, but we know that they are going to be high, and that means we’re going to have to make drastic cuts.”
Because so many aspects of the budget go to pay mandates from the state, employees seem to be the only area that the board has freedom to cut, Troyer said.
“The teachers are the only thing we have control over,” he said. “We can’t cut programs.”
Board member Edward Rittberg during a later interview said he could not comment on the budget because he is not a member of the finance committee.
“The budget numbers have not been released to the full board yet,” he said.
The full board will get the numbers on the budget at a special meeting on March 14. The board has to approve a tentative budget on March 14 to submit to the county for its perusal. The public meeting will be held at 7 p.m. A full-blown public presentation is slated for March 26 at 7 p.m.
A bond is still a possibility
In an issue that could be related to a potential bond issue, the board approved the final stage of its long-range facilities plan last week.
This plan, which helps the district conform to current state standards, was submitted to the state Department of Education in December. The state, in accepting the plan, gave tentative approval to a series of proposed projects.
“We were required to do an extensive evaluation of 40 different operating systems and enrollment for five years ahead,” said Board Administrator Ed Walkiewicz. The facilities plan addressed those changes that will be needed to handle the projected increases in enrollment. “The document is three inches thick,” he said.
Rittberg said the board is not bound by the plan, but it is a planning document.
“We look at everything that needs to be done and what we can afford to do and we shave from the document,” Rittberg said.
A friendly Panasonic gives schools projectors
Board member Michael Schlemm, chairman of the technology committee, told the board that Panasonic has given the school district two digital projectors that can be used in the elementary schools’ computer labs. Schlemm said the school added more computers to the lab than originally intended and then found it had no budget for the projectors.
“I contacted Mayor [Dennis] Elwell and he suggested we ask Panasonic,” Schlemm said. “Panasonic agreed without blinking an eye.”
Schlemm said the cost of each unit is about $4,000.
In an effort to control traffic along Huber Street, Rittberg said the shared services committee – which has representatives from various public bodies in town such as the Town Council, the school board, the housing authority, the municipal authority and the town library – discussed the need for new signs on Huber Street.
The committee also agreed to install signs near Clarendon School. Rittberg said requests for flashing lights and speed changes would take more time since they would have to be authorized through the state Department of Transportation. He said police have begun cracking down on speeding along Millridge Road where the lack of sidewalks forces kids to walk in the street.
Rittberg also said the town would bear the cost of installing handicapped toilet facilities near the high school football stadium, despite a ruling by the state that Community Development Block Grants cannot be used for the purpose.
“The town will pay for the work and continue to pursue grants for the project,” Rittberg said, noting that the town and the board are jointly installing lights on the football field.
Board President Paul Amico informed the board of his decision not to run for re-election, and said he was proud of the work the board accomplished over his six years there.
Resident comments
Donald Skinner, formerly a member of the town’s Municipal Drug Alliance board, returned with additional questions concerning the use of a $30,000 grant from the county for the board. Last week, Mayor Dennis Elwell issued a report showing that all money received through the grant was submitted to the Board of Education for its anti-drug abuse program. Amico said he would give a full report to the Alliance later.
Parents concerned about busing for their children to parochial schools in Jersey City starting next year asked for an accounting as to how many students had signed up. Last year, too many students opted for the service, causing the Board of Education to pay the parents for the transport rather than offer the service. After intense negotiations, the parents – with the help of Mayor Elwell – procured county transportation. This year, the parents arrived early to make sure the same problem did not occur. Walkiewicz said they should contact the superintendent of schools.