Mat-Aberdeen 2010-11 budget passes amid controversy

The Matawan-Aberdeen Board of Education passed the 2010-11 budget despite opposition from the local teachers union during a raucous five-hour hearing on March 22.

 

The large turnout of residents, parents, teachers and members of the Matawan Regional Teachers Association for the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional Board of Education’s public budget hearing on March 22 made it necessary to move the meeting. PHOTO COURTESY EVAN NICHOLS Faced with state aid cuts and a budget deficit, the district is cutting $6.2 million in personnel and programs, eliminating more than 80 employees, including 20 teachers, 36 janitors, seven homeroom teachers, two administrators, three child study team members, nine secretaries, librarians at the middle and high schools, four coaches, one business office employee, one maintenance person and five lunch aides — a 13 percent reduction of employees.

The proposal to outsource janitorial services was a rallying point for the Matawan Regional Teachers Association (MRTA), with the union president warning that the move would compromise the safety of students.

With a crowd of some 400 people in attendance, union members, teachers and parents spoke into the record, many shouting out comments at board members, clapping their hands and banging their fists on tables in support of the union position.

The seven-school district, which was informed last week of a state aid reduction of 22.5 percent, will receive $10,067,060 in state funding, a loss of $2.9 million.

The district’s total 2010-11 budget amounts to $59,925,000, $2.3 million less than the 2009-10 budget. The budget calls for a 2 percent increase in the tax levy to deal with a 4 percent total budget reduction.

The budget includes contractual increases for the MRTA and Matawan Regional Administrators Association (MRAA), a 25 percent increase for health and prescription benefits, and a 7 percent increase for dental coverage for the full year.

“Although we are amidst these tough economic times, we still need to stay focused on our fiscal plan and to maintain as many programs, staff and financial opportunities that remain possible for the future,” said Superintendent Richard O’Malley.

According to O’Malley, making tough choices and living within the district’s means was the theme of his budget presentation.

The district also axed approximately 17 programs, including stipends for clubs and athletics, RTI (Response to Intervention), work-study programs, high school golf, and summer school. O’Malley explained that $500,000 in cost savings would be achieved by outsourcing the district’s janitorial staff.

The motion to approve the 2010-11 budget passed with a 6-2 vote, with board President Charles Kenny and board members Joseph Warren, Lawrence O’Connell, Gerald Donaghue, John Delaney and Elizabeth Hayward voting yes.

However, board Vice President Thomas Gambino and board member Jan Rubino voted against the budget, citing concerns about privatizing the custodial staff to an outside consulting company. Board member Martin Ruprecht was not present for the vote.

“I’ve been vocal in public and I’ve been vocal in private about the custodial issue,” Rubino said. “I’m uncomfortable with it. I know there are many other ways about cutting $500,000. There’s too many security issues, in my opinion. It scares the hell out of me.” Rubino presented a motion to table the budget, but it failed by a 2-6 vote.

The public hearing attracted more than 400 people to the meeting, which began at 8 p.m. at Cambridge Park Elementary School in Aberdeen. At approximately 9 p.m., the meeting was suspended by an order of the Aberdeen Township Fire Department because the facility was over capacity. The board made an executive decision to reconvene at Matawan Regional High School at 10 p.m.

Much of the outcry from the large crowd stemmed from the MRTA rallying in numbers against the privatization of the custodial staff.

Carl Kosmyna, MRTA president, spoke out against the board’s proposal to outsource janitorial employees to Edvocate, a national consulting firm that provides school support services.

The union is arguing that the board has denied Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests to obtain information about how the cost savings would be achieved.

“To date, I still have not received all the scattergrams [graphs] so we can verify the amount of money we are talking about,” Kosmyna said. “It is kind of difficult to process without that information. We are ready to prepare to negotiate possible concessions [with the board].”

Before the March 22 meeting, the union released a flier endorsed by Kosmyna warning parents that the Board of Education is putting “children at risk” by hiring “strangers” to replace the custodians.

The flier states, “We understand the need to explore cost-savings options, but refuse to support any measure that does so at the expense of our children. We also firmly believe that a child’s safety is priceless, even in these economic times.”

O’Malley explained that two background checks for janitors would be conducted, one through the consultants and the other by the state. Kosmyna, along with several parents, teachers and MRTA members, called for a 4 percent tax levy instead of a 2 percent tax levy increase if the in-district janitorial staff could be spared from the chopping block.

“Tonight we are not talking about dollars and cents … we are talking about millions of dollars,” Kosmyna said. “The difference between increasing the cap to 4 percent from 2 percent would result in an extra $1,225,000 to this district to spend on the students in this district to give them the education that they are used to, and the quality they should receive. When not budgeting to cap, you are doing irrefutable harm to students in this district.”

Kosmyna’s remarks elicited applause, whoops and standing ovations from the crowd.

In response, board member Joseph Warren said the two communities could not afford a 4 percent tax levy given the economic climate. He also said the MRTA’s “fear-mongering campaign” was “reprehensible,” based on the lack of concessions to the board.

“If the unions made concessions to us, there could be substantial savings,” Warren said. “If we were able to find substantial savings, that money would be going toward job preservation. If the unions want the custodians to remain, they can make concessions that would allow us to fund the custodians’ jobs … and we’re not just talking about custodians, we’re talking about scores of jobs. If we had some concessions, and they don’t need scattergrams and they don’t need fake meetings. All they need to say is, ‘We will stick with our current salary for one more year.’ That alone would more than save every custodian.”

Gov. Chris Christie released a statement on March 23 announcing that school boards and local education associations must work together to implement salary freezes for fiscal year 2011 on all collective bargaining agreements and require school district employees to make contributions to their health benefits under the New Jersey State Health Benefit Plan.

Several board members voted yes on the introduced 2010-11 budget based on reopening discussions with the union; however, a date has not been set at this time.

With a 2 percent tax levy increase, the owner of a house assessed at $282,355 in Aberdeen Township would pay $19.77 more per year in school taxes.

The projected tax increase for Matawan Borough for a house assessed at $347,473 would be $52.38 more per year.

O’Malley explained that the 2010-11 budget does not exceed the 2.5 proposed spending cap recommended by Christie.

The cost per pupil for 2010-11 is $12,520, a reduction of $719 from 2009-10, the lowest in five years, O’Malley said.

In an emotional moment, custodian Richard Carol of Matawan said he has been working within the district for 35 years and was disappointed with the board’s decision.

“I’ll tell you what you are losing,” he said. “You are losing heart and soul.”