Weehawken Superintendent of Schools Kevin McLellan was anxiously awaiting the news coming from the state Department of Education concerning the allocations of state aid for the 2003-2004 school year.
After all, Gov. Jim McGreevey mentioned in his State of the State address that $200 million of the state’s budget would be reserved for education. McLellan figured that the address meant good news for Weehawken students.
"We were hoping that the governor’s message would mean a viable increase for us," McLellan said. "But that obviously wasn’t the case."
Instead, the Weehawken school district will receive only $78,000 more than it did a year ago, which caused great concern to the district’s top officials.
"It’s unfair that the state should provide such a minimal increase in aid," McLellan said. "We’ve shown that we can provide a quality education, as our test scores have shown. Education should be the most viable commodity. The aid we’re receiving does very little."
"It’s a little disappointing to get a measly $78,000 more than last year," said Board of Education President Richard Barsa. "After listening to the governor’s speech, you would have figured we were headed for better times. But after seeing what some other schools have received, getting $78,000 more is sad. It’s almost like we’re being penalized for our success with no monetary rewards."
Barsa said that it’s very frustrating since many of the other Hudson County communities stand to receive more in state aid than Weehawken.
"All of the communities surrounding us got much more," said Barsa. He said that the state’s 30 designated Abbott "special needs" districts, like Jersey City and Union City, will receive nearly half of the allotted $200 million because of their designation. The money comes as a result of a court ruling against the disparity of wealth between the state’s poorest and richest districts.
Barsa said that the anticipated expenses in the last few months, like rising utility bills, will cause a drain on Weehawken’s budget.
"The $78,000 won’t event cover the cost of the utilities," Barsa said. "It’s a really disappointing amount."
Barsa, who also handles the financial matters for the board, believes that the Board of Education might have no other choice but to introduce a budget next month that will call for a tax increase to homeowners. Property owners pay three types of taxes: county, city and school taxes. They come together in one bill.
"I would venture to guess that there’s a good possibility that it will lead to a tax hike," Barsa said. "With all of the expenses going up, I can’t see any other way. I definitely can’t see this helping us."
Tom Rosenthal, a spokesman for the state Department of Education, said the budget picture is not a rosy one, considering that everyone is feeling the pinch of a horrific fiscal crunch in the state. Gov. Jim McGreevey recently released plans that call for drastic cuts across the board, including the state’s plan for senior citizen prescriptions, as well as grants for fine arts and museums.
"I know that one-third of the state’s entire budget is going to education, so there is a commitment there," Rosenthal said. "We are not doing what others are doing, for example in New York City, with all the cuts and reductions. No district is getting less than it did last year."
However, while no one will receive less, some officials are certain that what they’re slated to receive just isn’t enough.
McLellan said when one considers all the anticipated expenditures, like the rising cost of health benefits for Board of Education employees, as well as special education costs and the aforementioned utilities, the $78,000 increase won’t go very far.
"It makes minimal impact," McLellan said. "I believe there should be monetary rewards to those districts that perform. Education is not an exact science. We try to give each of our students the best opportunity to learn, and sometimes that means after school programs and summer programs. That costs money. There are also major expenditures for a special education program. Producing the results should be the most important thing. Apparently, it’s not the case."