High school district budget to get close look from state

High school district budget
to get close look from state
By dave benjamin
Staff Writer

Freehold Regional High School District administrators may not have a working budget for the 2003-04 school year until July.

Because elected municipal officials in the eight municipalities that make up the district failed to agree on how much to cut from the $135 million budget that was defeated in April, the spending plan must now be reviewed by the state Department of Education.

The governing bodies in Englishtown, Farmingdale, Freehold Borough, Free-hold Township, Manalapan and Marlboro agreed to recommend a cut of $937,000 in the budget.

The Howell Township Council recommended a cut of $1.5 million and the Colts Neck Township Committee recommended a cut of $1.53 million.

"I am extremely disappointed with the inability of the mayors to reach a consensus on budget cuts," said Superintendent of Schools James Wasser. "Because of a failure to agree, the FRHSD budget will now go [eventually] to Trenton where someone with no knowledge of our school system will determine which programs and services to cut."

Wasser said the responsibility to determine what to cut belongs to the district and the municipalities at the local level.

"It is a local matter, affecting local students and residents, and should have been successfully negotiated by the district and our eight local towns," he said.

FRHSD public information coordinator Ilse Whisner outlined the steps that will now be followed.

"The county superintendent (who represents the state Department of Education on the local level) must review the district budget," Whisner said. "By June 2, he must complete an analysis and submit a recommendation to the regional assistant commissioner."

Another important date on the calendar is June 11, the date set when repre-sentatives of the Office of Fiscal Policy and Planning and the regional fiscal staff will meet to discuss the county super-intendent’s recommended budget reductions.

There will be a panel review before the final review and approval will be held on June 20, and a final decision by the state education commissioner is scheduled to be issued no later than June 25, Whisner said.

Concerned about the impact of any further cuts that will be made in Trenton, Wasser said, "Anything beyond the $937,000 agreed to by six of the eight towns will negatively impact on staff and student academic and extracurricular programs. We can’t afford to lose staff when our enrollments keep growing and I certainly don’t want to see summer school or freshman sports affected."

Students from Howell attend the six schools in the Freehold Regional High School District.