School districts react to state aid cuts

The state Department of Education released 2010 state aid figures to school districts on March 18, with some districts sustaining cuts of up to 100 percent in state aid compared to last year’s aid.

 

In the face of aid cuts across most districts, the 2010-11 state budget still grants approximately $70 million more in state funds to education aid than last year.

District administrators had a four-day turnaround period to submit tentative budgets to the Monmouth County Executive Superintendent’s Office by March 22 for review.

In the Bayshore region, the Middletown Public School District received the second largest aid reduction in Monmouth County, receiving $13,741,235 for its 2010-11 budget, a loss of approximately $7.2 million.

“The magnitude of this is really incomprehensible,” said Superintendent Karen Bilbao. “The aid change of the formula is 4.99 percent reduction in our total budget, which is over $150 million.”

The district addressed members of the public at a Board of Education meeting at Bayshore Middle School in Leonardo on March 18.

According to board President Laura Agin, the district’s state aid was cut by 34 percent, a much higher percentage than the district originally anticipated.

“We expected it to be potential reductions in state aid of 5 percent, 10 percent or 15 percent,” Agin said. “This is no longer applicable at this time.”

The district also held a community budget forum on March 4 at High School North and Bilbao told those in attendance the district anticipated a flat 10 percent cut in state aid for the 2010-11 academic year and was also anticipating $4.5 million in budget cuts to include personnel cuts and staff layoffs.

Faced with the reductions, Bilbao explained the Board of Education would be working through the weekend on a revised budget plan to present to the county superintendent on March 22.

“We are trying to come up with some contingency plan, but we are certainly not prepared at this time to present a budget to the board or the community, and I think you’ll understand the reasons why,” Bilbao said March 18.

The board allowed a 30-minute publiccomment session for residents to voice their concerns about the district’s 2010-11 budget. Many feared more layoffs and service cuts.

Marie Boccasino, of Port Monmouth, expressed concerns about school closures and a reduction of nontenured teachers.

“How do you even determine closing a school?” Boccasino said, with tears in her eyes. “Coming from Port Monmouth, that terrifies me, because we have the tiniest school.”

Bilbao said closing a school could be an option but was not definite because the district would need to figure out how students could be absorbed into other buildings.

The district also had anticipated cutting 36 teaching positions for a savings of $2.3 million, but she said that number would rise based on the 34 percent reduction in state aid.

“Now we are certainly looking at much larger numbers,” Bilbao said. “We are also looking at all other types of staff members. Absolutely we are looking at administrators, paraprofessionals, custodial staff and every type of staff.”

Bilbao said other strategies that are being considered to offset the aid reductions are increasing class sizes, redistricting students, eliminating subvarsity athletic programs, and charging a flat fee for athletic/co-curricular activities.

Resident Brian Delaney said he was glad the district was considering other budget reductions.

“I’ll make it simple … we don’t have any more money for you,” he said. “You are going to have to make do with a lot less.”

Almost 87 percent of state aid was cut from the Holmdel Township Public School District for the 2010-11 budget year. The district will receive $396,303 in general fund state aid for 2010-11, a loss of $2,540,463. A budget hearing was planned at Indian Hill School March 24.

In the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District, state aid was cut by 22.5 percent, and the district will receive $10,067,060 for its six schools, a loss of $2.9 million.

The district is proposing $6.2 million in personnel and program cuts, eliminating 78 employees, outsourcing its janitorial staff and axing 17 programs, including stipends for clubs and athletics, work-study programs, curriculum writing and summer school.

For the Hazlet Public School District, state aid cuts amounted to 17.3 percent, or $2,328,360. The district will receive $11,125,785 for 2010-11.

The Keyport School District had state aid cut by 14.3 percent, or $861,857. The district’s total state aid for 2010-11 is $5,144,185.

Faced with a multibillion dollar budget gap, Gov. Chris Christie said his administration was required to make hard choices about the biggest category of spending in the state budget — state aid to public school districts.

For 2010-11, Christie said public school districts would receive approximately $820 million less than last year, as announced during a joint session of the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly on March 16.

The governor explained no school district in New Jersey would face a reduction in aid greater than 5 percent of its school budget.

“I am also proposing legislation to finally give school districts the power they have repeatedly asked for in collective bargaining and in setting employee benefits so that they can lower the costs of their budget without affecting learning in the classroom,” he said.

Christie also proposed reforms to the public sector itself, explaining that employee costs, health care costs, retirement costs and a “failure to set priorities” have contributed to “out of control” state spending growth.

He also said that all school district employees should pay a reasonable portion of their health care costs, like New Jerseyans in the private sector.

“If we do not end this dual system, state and local government will have to raise taxes endlessly to pay for it,” Christie said. “Teachers are not the problem. They get it. Trenton special interests are the problem, and we must stand up to them.”

According to the Department of Education (DOE), school districts will need to present their budgets to the public before any of the governor’s spending reforms can be acted upon by the Legislature.

On Feb. 18 the New Jersey commissioner of education advised all school districts to anticipate a 15 percent decrease in state aid revenue in preparing their budgets.

Christie also directed that all school districts use a portion of their surplus funds to offset withheld state aid.