When voters head to the polls to vote in the Board of Education elections on Tuesday, April 17, not only will they be choosing three Board of Education members, but they will also be voting yes or no on their new $39 million spending plan for 2001-2002.
At their last meeting, the board unanimously approved the budget. The total amount of spending rose slightly from the present year’s budget of $38 million, as did the amount to be raised by local taxes, but because there are more property owners in town paying taxes, each Hoboken homeowner will pay less, according to Schools Superintendent Patrick Gagliardi.
According to a Board of Education President David Anthony, the Hoboken schools have greatly improved performance in the last eight years without raising taxes.
“Eight years ago, there were 21 school administrators, and today, there are only 13,” he said. “We didn’t have programs for 3 and 4 year olds or any charter schools. Today we have about the same amount of kids, but through the effective redirecting of funds, we are putting money back into the classroom where it belongs.”
“This is a very legitimate budget,” said Gagliardi in an interview Wednesday. He added that the schools are able to focus more money into their top priorities while not having to raise taxes. “We found areas where we could cut the fat and we are getting to a point where the system is pretty lean,” he said. “The kids are our priority, and this budget will effectively serve all of them.”
This year’s budget was developed differently than in years past. According to Gagliardi, each school listed its needs individually and made its own budget that it passed that on to the Board of Education. “Then we take those budgets, and then we are able to combine them all into a single budget,” he said.
In the past, the Board of Education was solely responsible for creating the budgets.
“We aren’t in the buildings every day, and we want to extend some of the control to the parents and the teachers,” said Anthony about letting the individual schools have a say in the budget. “When we do this, they tend to get more involved and tell us what they want. It’s a real effective method of empowering the people.” Two of the programs that will receive more funding in this year’s budget will be the district’s 3- and 4-year-old programs, which are now state-mandated for districts like Hoboken. The programs have greatly increased enrollment in the system.
Also, there will be more money for professional teacher training since the state’s neediest districts were required to adopt Whole School Reform. Part of this reform states that teachers will be required to partake in 100 hours of professional training over the next five years.
Hoboken will also generate added income as a choice district. This means that students from other areas outside of Hoboken can choose to go to school in the Mile-Square City. In addition to this, children in special education are sent to Hoboken from such districts as Weehawken, Union City, and West New York. For every special needs student that comes from outside of Hoboken, the Board of Education receives compensation.