The Secaucus Public School District stands to lose all of its state aid – $1.75 million – under Gov. Christopher Christie’s proposed budget, which he presented Tuesday to the New Jersey Legislature in Trenton.
If passed by the state legislature, Secaucus will become the only school district in Hudson County to lose all of its state school aid.
The local school system had anticipated the loss of this aid prior to Christie’s announcement. But the loss could force steep cuts in the next school year budget, which the Secaucus school board must submit to the county superintendent by March 22.
“You can only cut but so much.” – Councilman John Shinnick
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$1.75 million at stake
Among Christie’s proposed cuts, the ones he’d like to make in education have received some of the worst criticism.
The governor has proposed cutting each school district’s state aid by the equivalent of 5 percent of its annual spending. The budget for the Secaucus School District for the 2009-2010 school year is $35 million, $33.23 million of which is covered by local tax dollars. The rest of the budget comes from state funding and grants. Under Christie’s plan, which must still be approved by the legislature, Secaucus would lose about $1.75 million in state aid.
“Currently, the administration, business administrator, and the board are working to prepare a budget…that will comply with state and county guidelines, while preserving a quality education for our students,” said Schools Superintendent Cynthia Randina said in a written statement released days before Christie unveiled his cuts. “Naturally, we will earmark those dollars that are essential to maintaining our core academic programs and those required by the [New Jersey] Department of Education for students to graduate.”
It was unclear last week what impact the loss of $1.75 million will have on the district’s $800,000 in reserve. When asked for clarification the day after Christie announced his cuts, Randina said through a secretary, “We have no comment.”
Committee explores options
Meanwhile, town officials have been meeting with Randina to explore ways to keep taxes and spending down. The Town of Secaucus, the Board of Education, and Housing Authority already share a number of service contracts (for plumbing, carpentry, HVAC work, etc.) to save money, and there’s an inter-local committee that’s working to save even more.
“The idea of shared services hasn’t really been maximized. We’re trying to improve that,” said Mayor Michael Gonnelli, who estimated that shared services saves hundreds of thousands in tax dollars. “But even with those cost-savings, the [school aid] cuts are going to be bad.”
But the mayor acknowledged that such efforts amount to little more than “nickel and diming,” and more drastic measures will be needed to make up for the loss in state aid.
Town Councilman John Shinnick, whom Gonnelli appointed to the inter-local committee, agrees.
“Of course, you can always do some trimming here and there. You know, you buy textbooks every other year instead of every year,” Shinnick said. “But there comes a point when you can only cut but so much. From there on your options are limited, and they aren’t great options. No one wants to increase class sizes. Would people in Secaucus be happy if we had to eliminate full-day kindergarten? Would they be happy if pre-K were to be eliminated?”
Shinnick emphasized that eliminating these programs has not been suggested, but he used the kindergarten example to illustrate the difficult choices facing municipalities and school boards.
And there are other financial pressures on school boards, the councilman added.
“You have contractual increases for the unions. You have insurance increases,” he noted. “Then, a lot of school districts are strangled by mandates. So, how do you fulfill the federal and state mandates when you’re having money cut?”
Shinnick, who was a Secaucus Board of Ed trustee before he became a councilman, said he hopes the legislature makes significant changes to the final state budget. If not, he predicted that school districts and municipalities will make up for the loss in state aid by raising taxes.
“It’s popular to make [budget] cuts,” Shinnick said. “The general public probably thinks these cuts will reduce their tax burden. But actually it’s just going to shift the tax burden. I don’t see how districts, including Secaucus, are going to be able to do what [Christie] expects to be done.” The state legislature will begin budget hearing this week.
The Secaucus Board of Education will hold a meeting for parents and teachers to discuss the impact of the proposed cuts on Wednesday, March 29 at 7 p.m. at Huber Street School.