Taxes, school funding dominate budget talk
Jackson residents speak out as council weighs its options
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer

JACKSON - Residents and educators spoke out on school funding issues during a Township Council meeting last week.

The Board of Education's proposed budget totaling $132.8 million for the 2007-08 school year was rejected by voters in the April 17 election. The budget proposed an increase in the school tax rate of 8.75 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, from $2.23 to $2.31 per $100.

The council has been charged with reviewing the defeated school budget and making a recommendation as to whether it should remain as the board proposed it or be reduced by a certain amount.

The council must make a recommendation by May 21.

Councilwoman Emily Ingram said she and Councilman Scott Martin are working with the firm of Hutchins, Farrell, Meyer and Allison, of Toms River, to review the budget and make recommendations.

Ingram said she and other council members have been reading e-mails from residents in order to get their input and the main focus of the May 8 council meeting was being devoted to hearing comments from residents.

Martin said when it comes to reviewing the budget, he expects the opinion will be fair, impartial and independent. He said he expects that the budget will be examined and where recommendations are needed they will be made. He also expects that the education of students will not be impacted and the determination will be free of any politics.

Delores Harvey, the president of the Jackson Education Association, which represents teachers, said that with the school budget being defeated for the past six years, eventually there is nothing to cut except personnel.

"Last week 22 of my colleagues received slips indicating nonrenewal of their contract for next year," Harvey said. "That is because of the 4 percent mandatory cap (on the amount the school district could raise in property taxes) that has been imposed" by the state.

"[Recently] the governor gave us 3 percent more (in state aid), but that 3 percent did not cover the 1,000 students we have added since the 2001-02 school year," Harvey said. "We have had an almost 2,000-student increase for which we have not received any state funding."

She said when state funding does not cover the curriculum and services schools are required to provide, the cost goes directly to taxpayers.

Harvey said staff cuts hurt students because school programs are affected.

"We need to keep the high quality and highly qualified staff," she said. "Look carefully when you rectify the defeated budget and notice I did not use the word 'cut.' "

Resident William Skowronski said he is not an educator.

"You're being asked to give a quick review of a complicated budget that makes decisions that will affect the lives of our young children. [The school board] has spent an inordinate amount of time on this budget and has developed a budget with an increase of only $132 per year for an average assessed home. Imagine the insult to have that budget rejected predominantly by people who feel they should no longer pay school taxes," he said in an apparent reference to senior citizens who voted against the budget.

Skowronski pointed to rising gas costs and said, "If you use a 15-gallon tank of gas per week, your fuel cost this past week just went up at an annualized fuel cost of $156. That exceeds the annual budget increase for the average assessed house."

The average assessment of a home in Jackson is about $150,000. All township property will be reassessed as part of a revaluation program this year.

Skowronski said the Jackson school district must provide required programs at a cost that is underfunded by the federal government. He said that fact should be considered by the council members when reviewing the defeated budget.

He cautioned about cutting proposed capital improvements, noting that buildings must be maintained. He asked that those costs not be put off for years.

"We cannot survive as a community if we take, all of our lives, what others give us and then bail out later on by saying, 'I don't have anyone in school so I don't have to pay school taxes,' " Skowronski said. "Follow that to an extreme and every business in town can make the same claim. Follow that logic to an extreme and that will be the end of public education as we know it."

He said the cost of educating children is amortized over an individual's entire life.

"Our children go to school on someone else's money and we must pay through the years when we don't have children in school," he said. "I don't have children in school currently, but I had four go through school. Now that I don't have children in school it's my turn to pay."

Resident Stan Goldman said the 2007-08 budget would have passed if all of the parents who have children in the schools came out to vote and voted yes.

"But this has been a tough year," said Goldman. "There has been a large raise in taxes and not everybody living in the adult communities is a millionaire. There are plenty of people living there on fixed incomes."

Goldman said seniors have paid taxes all along and the value of their homes as well as every other home in Jackson depends upon the schools.

"The better the schools, the better the community. So we are not against education. We are against the over-spending of money on things that shouldn't affect teachers being laid off," he told the council.

Goldman said it is time people recognize that seniors are not the cash cows anymore. He said he resents when seniors are blamed for exercising their right to vote in the school election.

Resident Donna Tuminaro said Jackson is a quality school district, but she said there are few commercial areas in town, as compared to Howell, Toms River or Brick.

"There's no Route 9, Route 70, Hooper Avenue or Route 37 to help us out," she said. "The burden of educating the children falls on the taxpayers here. Voting for a school budget should not be an issue."

Tuminaro said she does not believe the budget was voted down.

"I believe taxes were voted down," she said. "Not all the senior citizens are on a fixed budget. Everything has gone up. How can you complain about teachers getting a raise? Last time I checked, everybody gets a raise. My son just went back to his lifeguard job and he gets a 3 percent raise this year."

Mayor Mark Seda said more money is needed and he said that funding should come from the state.

"We deserve our fair share in Jackson," said Seda, who sent out a survey and received only 52 responses. "That sends a message that people don't care, so we ultimately pay the difference."

Seda said some of New Jersey's Abbott school districts - the 31 school districts which receive the majority of their funding from the state and not from their community's taxpayers - may need to be removed from the list of Abbott districts. However, Seda said no one has made a move to do that.

In fact, no Abbott district has ever been decertified and removed from the list despite any changes that may have occurred in their municipality's economic status. A state education spokesman told the Tri-Town News more than a year ago that no regulations are in place to decertify an Abbott district.

There are no Abbott districts in Ocean County. The Abbott districts in Monmouth County are Neptune, Asbury Park, Long Branch and Keansburg.

Seda said when he asks for help it is not forthcoming.

"We need you the community," the mayor said. "If you want to change the system it can be changed."

Resident Roger Feldman said the bottom line is a level playing field.

"There are no $200,000 average homes in Westlake," an adult community, he said. "We are being assessed at 50 percent over the average house in Jackson. People with children who have lived here for 20 years have their houses [assessed] at $125,000. There has to be some equality."

McAuliffe Middle School teacher Michael Bryce said he never expected to get a notice informing him that he will not have a job after 17 years. He said there are seven others at the school who will also be cut. Bryce said the teachers will continue to do their jobs as professionals even though they were given notices informing them that they will not have a job next year.

Eighth grade teacher and Jackson resident Mary Beth Beichert said she is hoping that some of the people who have been told they will be out of a job can be brought back if other teachers retire.

Beichert said her students feel that government does not work or watch out for them.

"They don't believe their voice makes a difference," she said. "Now they are going to lose teachers and programs."

Beichert said she never saw the survey Seda referred to and asked why it wasn't put in mailboxes like campaign literature.

Seda said everyone, including teachers, has to lobby state officials for a change in the way schools are funded.

School board President Marvin Krakower asked the council members to do the best they can for the children and for the taxpayers.

"We don't get fair funding," Krakower said. "We have approximately 10,000 students now and two high schools. The costs for electric, heat and water are astronomical. We're the second largest busing district and we have to replace eight to 10 buses a year, with each one costing $91,000. I beg you, just do the best you can for our children and for our teachers. I'm not going to sleep tonight because I had to cut those teachers."

year," Harvey said. "We have had an almost 2,000-student increase for which we have not received any state funding."

She said when state funding does not cover the curriculum and services schools are required to provide, the cost goes directly to taxpayers.

Harvey said staff cuts hurt students because school programs are affected.

"We need to keep the high quality and highly qualified staff," she said. "Look carefully when you rectify the defeated budget - and notice I did not use the word 'cut.' "

Resident William Skowronski said he is not an educator.

"You're being asked to give a quick review of a complicated budget that makes decisions that will affect the lives of our young children. [The school board] has spent an inordinate amount of time on this budget and has developed a budget with an increase of only $132 per year for an average assessed home. Imagine the insult to have that budget rejected predominantly by people who feel they should no longer pay school taxes," he said in an apparent reference to senior citizens who voted against the budget.

Skowronski pointed to rising gas costs and said, "If you use a 15-gallon tank of gas per week, your fuel cost this past week just went up at an annualized fuel cost of $156. That exceeds the annual budget increase for the average assessed house."

The average assessment of a home in Jackson is about $150,000. All township property will be reassessed as part of a revaluation program this year.

Skowronski said the Jackson school district must provide required programs at a cost that is underfunded by the federal government. He said that fact should be considered by the council members when reviewing the defeated budget.

He cautioned about cutting proposed capital improvements, noting that buildings must be maintained. He asked that those costs not be put off for years.

"We cannot survive as a community if we take, all of our lives, what others give us and then bail out later on by saying, 'I don't have anyone in school so I don't have to pay school taxes,' " Skowronski said. "Follow that to an extreme and every business in town can make the same claim. Follow that logic to an extreme and that will be the end of public education as we know it."

He said the cost of educating children is amortized over an individual's entire life.

"Our children go to school on someone else's money and we must pay through the years when we don't have children in school," he said. "I don't have children in school currently, but I had four go through school. Now that I don't have children in school it's my turn to pay."

Resident Stan Goldman said the 2007-08 budget would have passed if all of the parents who have children in the schools came out to vote and voted yes.

"But this has been a tough year," said Goldman. "There has been a large raise in taxes and not everybody living in the adult communities is a millionaire. There are plenty of people living there on fixed incomes."

Goldman said seniors have paid taxes all along and the value of their homes as well as every other home in Jackson depends upon the schools.

"The better the schools, the better the community. So we are not against education. We are against the over-spending of money on things that shouldn't affect teachers being laid off," he told the council.

Goldman said it is time people recognize that seniors are not the cash cows anymore. He said he resents when seniors are blamed for exercising their right to vote in the school election.

Resident Donna Tuminaro said Jackson is a quality school district, but she said there are few commercial areas in town, as compared to Howell, Toms River or Brick.

"There's no Route 9, Route 70, Hooper Avenue or Route 37 to help us out," she said. "The burden of educating the children falls on the taxpayers here. Voting for a school budget should not be an issue."

Tuminaro said she does not believe the budget was voted down.

"I believe taxes were voted down," she said. "Not all the senior citizens are on a fixed budget. Everything has gone up. How can you complain about teachers getting a raise? Last time I checked, everybody gets a raise. My son just went back to his lifeguard job and he gets a 3 percent raise this year."

Mayor Mark Seda said more money is needed and he said that funding should come from the state.

"We deserve our fair share in Jackson," said Seda, who sent out a survey and received only 52 responses. "That sends a message that people don't care, so we ultimately pay the difference."

Seda said some of New Jersey's Abbott school districts - the 31 school districts which receive the majority of their funding from the state and not from their community's taxpayers - may need to be removed from the list of Abbott districts. However, Seda said no one has made a move to do that.

In fact, no Abbott district has ever been decertified and removed from the list despite any changes that may have occurred in their municipality's economic status. A state education spokesman told the Tri-Town News more than a year ago that no regulations are in place to decertify an Abbott district.

There are no Abbott districts in Ocean County. The Abbott districts in Monmouth County are Neptune, Asbury Park, Long Branch and Keansburg.

Seda said when he asks for help it is not forthcoming.

"We need you the community," the mayor said. "If you want to change the system it can be changed."

Resident Roger Feldman said the bottom line is a level playing field.

"There are no $200,000 average homes in Westlake," an adult community, he said. "We are being assessed at 50 percent over the average house in Jackson. People with children who have lived here for 20 years have their houses [assessed] at $125,000. There has to be some equality."

McAuliffe Middle School teacher Michael Bryce said he never expected to get a notice informing him that he will not have a job after 17 years. He said there are seven others at the school who will also be cut. Bryce said the teachers will continue to do their jobs as professionals even though they were given notices informing them that they will not have a job next year.

Eighth grade teacher and Jackson resident Mary Beth Beichert said she is hoping that some of the people who have been told they will be out of a job can be brought back if other teachers retire.

Beichert said her students feel that government does not work or watch out for them.

"They don't believe their voice makes a difference," she said. "Now they are going to lose teachers and programs."

Beichert said she never saw the survey Seda referred to and asked why it wasn't put in mailboxes like campaign literature.

Seda said everyone, including teachers, has to lobby state officials for a change in the way schools are funded.

School board President Marvin Krakower asked the council members to do the best they can for the children and for the taxpayers.

"We don't get fair funding," Krakower said. "We have approximately 10,000 students now and two high schools. The costs for electric, heat and water are astronomical. We're the second largest busing district and we have to replace eight to 10 buses a year, with each one costing $91,000. I beg you, just do the best you can for our children and for our teachers. I'm not going to sleep tonight because I had to cut those teachers."

everybody gets a raise. My son just went back to his lifeguard job and he gets a 3 percent raise this year."

Mayor Mark Seda said more money is needed and he said that funding should come from the state.

"We deserve our fair share in Jackson," said Seda, who sent out a survey and received only 52 responses. "That sends a message that people don't care, so we ultimately pay the difference."

Seda said some of New Jersey's Abbott school districts - the 31 school districts that receive the majority of their funding from the state and not from their community's taxpayers - may need to be removed from the list of Abbott districts. However, Seda said no one has made a move to do that.

In fact, no Abbott district has ever been decertified and removed from the list despite any changes that may have occurred in their municipality's economic status. A state education spokesman told the Tri-Town News more than a year ago that no regulations are in place to decertify an Abbott district.

There are no Abbott districts in Ocean County. The Abbott districts in Monmouth County are Neptune, Asbury Park, Long Branch and Keansburg.

Seda said when he asks for help, it is not forthcoming.

"We need you, the community," the mayor said. "If you want to change the system, it can be changed."

Resident Roger Feldman said the bottom line is a level playing field.

"There are no $200,000 average homes in Westlake," an adult community, he said. "We are being assessed at 50 percent over the average house in Jackson. People with children who have lived here for 20 years have their houses [assessed] at $125,000. There has to be some equality."

McAuliffe Middle School teacher Michael Bryce said he never expected to get a notice informing him that he will not have a job after 17 years. He said there are seven others at the school who will also be cut. Bryce said the teachers will continue to do their jobs as professionals even though they were given notices informing them that they will not have a job next year.

Eighth-grade teacher and Jackson resident Mary Beth Beichert said she is hoping that some of the people who have been told they will be out of a job can be brought back if other teachers retire.

Beichert said her students feel that government does not work or watch out for them.

"They don't believe their voice makes a difference," she said. "Now they are going to lose teachers and programs."

Beichert said she never saw the survey Seda referred to and asked why it wasn't put in mailboxes like campaign literature.

Seda said everyone, including teachers, has to lobby state officials for a change in the way schools are funded.

School board President Marvin Krakower asked the council members to do the best they can for the children and for the taxpayers.

"We don't get fair funding," Krakower said. "We have approximately 10,000 students now and two high schools. The costs for electric, heat and water are astronomical. We're the second largest busing district and we have to replace eight to 10 buses a year, with each one costing $91,000. I beg you, just do the best you can for our children and for our teachers. I'm not going to sleep tonight because I had to cut those teachers."