Jackson school board ratifies $2.4M budget reduction
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer

JACKSON - The Board of Education has voted 4-3 to accept a $2.4 million reduction to the 2007-08 school year budget that was recommended by the Township Council.

The board met on June 4 to ratify the cuts. Board members Marvin Krakower, Barbara Fiero, Linda Lackay and Michael Hanlon voted to approve the reduction. Board members Sharon Dey, John Morvay and Martin Spielman voted against the reduction.

On May 21, the council reduced the tax levy for the coming school year from the $65.1 million that was defeated by voters in the April 17 school election to $62.7 million.

The total budget for the 2007-08 school year in Jackson will be $130.4 million. The board had proposed a budget of $132.8 million.

With the board's decision final, the school tax rate in Jackson will increase by 4.75 cents per $100 of assessed valuation - from $2.23 to $2.275 per $100.

Under the budget proposal put forth by the school board and rejected by voters, the tax rate would have increased by 8.75 cents per $100 of assessed valuation - from $2.23 to $2.31.

"I understand the budget was defeated and an extensive cut was made which would not allow us to restore certain things in the budget," Spielman said. "But, as a matter of fact, [these cuts may cause] conditional future hardships in terms of those cuts that we were asked to assume by the council."

Morvay said he sat at an open forum when the council was cutting the budget and said the members of the governing body found $1 million of which he had no knowledge.

"I'm in the same boat," he said. "I can't vote for this. When you cut 17 teachers, you cut reading, you cut programs, you're cutting the heart of education."

Lackay said the intent of the council was not to hurt the children and the programs.

"I thought their intent was genuine," she said. "They worked to find an independent auditor to look at the books and he appeared to be concerned. The $1 million was always there. I don't think it was found money. It was [money that was] set aside."

Lackay said it was not a concern of the council that the board was already under a state-mandated surplus cap, nor was it a concern of the council that the school district offers courtesy busing to children who could be made to walk to school.

"It's not for me to comment that our town's ($38.9 million) budget has a $10 million surplus," said Lackay. "So, we have a 2 percent surplus."

Spielman said, "It was our distinct impression when we left the meeting with the (council's) liaison committee and their accountant that the agreed-upon amount to be cut was $2.1 million. It was my impression that our superintendent and business administrator were trying to reduce that number into the range of $1.6 million to $1.8 million. Next, we heard the number had grown to $2.4 million and ... they said we should save an additional $150,000 on energy costs."

Spielman noted that energy costs for Jackson Liberty High School have not yet been determined since the second floor of the building will not be open until September.

"At some time we have to stand up, put our backs against the wall and fight for what we know is right," he said.

"By using more surplus in the district this, in effect, is going to delay next year's tax increase by one year," Hanlon said. "That's all it does. We cannot maintain the level of surplus being applied to the budget for much longer without large tax increases in the upcoming years. Yet the township has decided to increase the cuts of the use of surplus, which will not be available next year. It's a one-shot deal.

"Everybody knows what a gallon of gasoline costs us," Hanlon said. "A barrel of oil is up to $67. We are the second largest busing district in the state."

Hanlon said if there are higher gas prices or there is damage done to a building that needs to be fixed immediately and there is no money to pay for it, administrators will have to make other major cuts. That could mean eliminating busing or eliminating programs in the middle of the school year. He said that is what the school district is facing.

Krakower said the township's auditor claimed the school district could earn another $160,000 in interest.

"That was two weeks ago," he said. "I asked him to please call our business administrator because we would love to earn another $160,000 and we're still waiting for a phone call."

"Nobody up here is happy with the numbers," Lackay said. "They [the council members] have made the recommendations to us and they feel it's in the best interest of our students."

During the meeting, former board member Gus Acevedo noted that school boards in other districts proposed higher budgets than the Jackson board did and voters approved those budgets, preventing them from having to be reviewed and cut by the governing body.

"We need a nation where education matters," he said. "I was criticized when I said the seniors (in Jackson) defeated this budget. Well, my [newspaper] interview was very long and only part of it was mentioned. I said the residents who have children in the school district didn't vote."

Acevedo said when people stay home and do not vote for the budget, some child suffers.

"Some people forgot that they live in the United States of America where somebody paid for their education," he said. "If we want safety, good books and good computers, then we have to fund it. There are people who are against the budget and constantly calling [the school board] inept who have never stepped into the school buildings. Let them go to the high schools. Let them sit down, have lunch [and talk] with the [students] and then let them vote down the budget."

With a school tax rate of $2.275 per $100 of assessed valuation in place, the owner of a home assessed at $150,000 will pay $3,412 in school taxes in 2007-08; the owner of a home assessed at $300,000 will pay $6,825 in school taxes in 2007-08; the owner of a home assessed at $400,000 will pay $9,100 in school taxes in 2007-08; and the owner of a home assessed at $500,000 will pay $11,375 in school taxes in 2007-08.

The Township Council identified what it said would be additional revenue for the board, including potential additional surplus, $475,000; anticipated child care fund balance, $1 million; and anticipated additional interest earnings, bond proceeds and cash balances in capital projects, $150,000.

Cuts coming from appropriations included capital outlay, $270,873 and fringe benefits that could be charged to the child care fund, $76,500.

Additional cuts were adjustments which included several line items: Other purchased service teachers, $50,000; tuition to other LEAs outside the district, $25,000; tuition to private schools for handicapped, $50,000; salaries, $50,000; energy in the form of heat and electricity, $150,000; other employee benefits, $50,000; and contracted services, $50,000.

The school board approved the recommendations made by the council.