Scotch Plains-Fanwood Patch: Latest Articles

Baseball Team, District at Odds Over Timeline of Field Project

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:32:00 -0400

Parents and players are upset that their field is in repair just days before the start of the game season.

By Lindsay Wilkes-Edrington

1:32pm

Members of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High baseball team and their parents showed up at the Board of Education meeting Thursday night to express their frustration with the fact that repairs to the baseball field began in late January, leaving the team without a home field for the time being.

"None of the athletic people were consulted about this," said Doreen Binkiewicz, the mother of Raiders player Gary Binkiewicz. "Now they have no good place to practice and no field to play on."

Binkiewicz said she and the others have been waiting since the end of the 2009 spring season to see the repairs start. Now they're underway at the height of the team's preparation for its 2010 season, forcing them to practice at Park Middle and potentially play their first few games all away. The game season begins April 1.

Business Administrator Anthony Del Sordi said a number of factors led to the project beginning in late January, but assured those in attendance that only five days of work were left and that it would all be complete by the end of March. Del Sordi said the workers continued throughout February in the midst of the snow storms, and that the only real delay they faced was the rain storm last weekend. From the get-go, he said, they thought they had sufficient time to do the work.

"It's never our intent to disrupt school or sports to do construction," he said. "The baseball field has given us a unique situation to deal with."

Still, that answer was not satisfactory to the parents and players, who pointed out that the baseball season really begins when the players start practicing in early March.

Raiders' player John Maxwell prepared a speech for the board about how he and his fellow players have been excited since last season to finally play on a new field. Now, he said, they've lost their home field advantage and disrupted other spring programs.

"Scotch Plains is notorious for having dismal playing fields," he said. "I only ask who took our field to give it back."

Doreen Binkiewicz and fellow mom Laurie Maxwell accused Del Sordi of not effectively communicating the plans with the athletic director, leaving everyone surprised when the project began a few weeks before the boys started practice. Binkiewicz went as far as calling Del Sordi a "micromanager" who tried to handle the project without consulting those involved and said she'd be willing to serve on a search team to replace him.

"We stood here and heard about how the budget process is definitely going to be rough this year," Maxwell said. "You've got this mess from the governor, and you feel all your hard work went nowhere, that it was ripped right from under you. Well, that's exactly how these boys feel. They knew it needed to be ripped up, and since last year we've been patient. We've waited. We've watched. Why did you pick two weeks before the season?"

"When people make statements that I work in isolation, I can assure you that's not the case," Del Sordi replied. "The assistant principal for athletics was involved in the process from Day 1. We had professional doing the work, and we ran into three individuals who couldn't determine the exact problem we were facing. That took longer than we would've liked to get resolved. When it was all said and done, we reached out to the community for assistance, but that doesn't always happen because people have jobs. We have to go through a state process, and that ended in mid-January, so we couldn't start until late January. We did feel we had sufficient time to do the work."

The business administrator also took issue with a Patch article that ran Thursday, stating that the claims in it made by baseball coach Tom Baylock indicated that he was misinformed about the project.

"When people say no one was involved in the process, people knew it was going on," Del Sordi said. "I wish that message would have been passed on to the players."

"Did you ask if it was ok to dig two weeks before the season?" Maxwell asked.

"Of course," Del Sordi said.

At that point, the high school's assistant principal for athletics, Rob Harmer, shot up in the back of the room.

"I'm sorry, but I can't take this anymore," he said. "I was not informed that the field would be dug up."

Harmer approached the microphone and said that the problem was the result of "a lack of communication for many years." When Del Sordi asked him if the district's buildings and grounds director had discussed the project's start date with him, Harmer said no.

With the meeting particularly tense at that point, Board President Trip Whitehouse called an end to the public portion of the session and requested that Harmer, Del Sordi, and others involved in the project meet within the next two days to sort out where the lines of communication broke down. Whitehouse asked that they report back to the board during its budget meeting on Monday.

Fanwood Mayor Calls Christie's Cuts Assault on Borough, BOE

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:02:36 -0400

The borough found out Thursday that it's state aid was cut by roughly 20 percent.

By Lindsay Wilkes-Edrington

12:02pm

Fanwood Mayor Colleen Mahr on Friday said that the borough and other municipalities have been "beaten up" by Gov. Chris Christie's state aid cuts and that she's considering holding a community meeting in the coming days to help the public understand the reality with which the borough and Board of Education are faced.

"We got a 20 percent reduction, close to $200,000, and we were not expecting it," Mahr said of the borough's state aid loss, which was announced late Thursday. "I think people have to understand what's going on. Property taxes are going to increase, not decrease, in the short term, and there's no way of getting around that. Services are going to decline."

The state Department of Community Affairs announced Thursday afternoon that Fanwood would receive $755,288 in aid this year and Scotch Plains would get $2,227,587. Each were cut roughly 20 percent, but Mahr said like the Board of Education, municipalities were misled about where the cuts would come from.

The Fanwood Democratic mayor said the state usually makes reductions to the borough's Consolidated Municipal Property Tax Relief Aid, or CMPTRA, and that they were anticipating about a 15 percent reduction in that, equaling out to about a $10,000 to $15,000 cut. Instead, the state reduced both their CMPTRA aid and their energy tax receipts, reducing the total aid to Fanwood from $949,450 last year to $755,288 this year, a 20.45 percent decrease overall. In 2009, Fanwood received $59,948 in CMPTRA and $889,502 in energy tax receipts. This year, those numbers have dropped to $28,412 and $726,876 respectively.

"There's two pots of money that make up municipal aid, the CMPTRA and the energy receipts, which are supposed to come back to us," Mahr said. "That money is supposed to be dedicated to coming back to municipalities. We never thought we'd see them grab from every pot of money. Technically they're not allowed to."

Mahr said she's not sure how the state is justifying taking funds from the energy tax receipts.

"Nobody has an answer to that in the last 24 hours," she said. "When my CFO called me, I said, 'wait a minute, I didn't think they could touch that,' and he said, 'that's what everybody said. We're not sure.'"

In his budget speech on Tuesday, Gov. Chris Christie announced that he would be reducing municipal aid by $445 million, justifying it by saying: "No longer will we reward cities and towns who irresponsibly spend."

Mahr said as someone closely aligned with the New Jersey Conference of Mayors and who's traveled the state talking to other municipalities, she found the governor's message disingenuous.

"I'm frustrated because I think nobody has to tell mayors on any local level that times are tough," Mahr said. "I can't swallow the characterization that we're out of control and out of touch. That I reject. … What is excessive are pension obligations from the state, the health care costs that industries push down our throats. What is excessive is that the fact that you are tied to a very unfairly balanced collective bargaining process that does not address the ability to pay. Arbitrators don't take into account our ability to pay, they take too much into account what other towns are giving and hold it over our heads."

The mayor went as far as saying that she would be willing to give up all of the borough's municipal aid if the state would take back the pension payments. She also took issue with the fact that the governor isn't reinstating the millionaires tax.

"That's leaving $1 billion at the door, she said. "At the same time he wants to change unemployment payouts. What the governor wants us to do as towns and the Board of Education is go back to every contract and open them back up, even if they're closed or haven't come up yet. I do understand a lot of what the governor is saying, but the fallout over the next year is going to be very significant."

While the state's final budget won't be complete until June, Mahr said she doesn't have great hope that any additional money will come back to the borough.

"If there's truly no money and we're jumping off the cliff like the governor wants us to do with him, I don't believe there's going to be found pots of money to restore a lot of it," she said.

Mahr said she's been in touch with Scotch Plains Mayor Nancy Malool and with the Board of Education. She said she sympathizes with the Board of Education, which found out this week that it would have lose $3.8 million in state aid, ultimately creating a $3.4 million deficit for the school district that they must account for in the next three days. The main concern, Mahr said, is educating the public now about where all these cuts have come from, so that when tax bills do go out, there isn't a sudden outcry.

"At that time it's too late," she said. "People need to educate themselves now because as Trenton goes so does Fanwood, Scotch Plains and the Board of Education, and we are being told what we need to do."

School Board Delays Budget Adoption Due to State Aid News, Calls Time Crunch 'Astounding,' 'Moronic'

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 07:00:00 -0400

The district will now adopt its tentative budget on Monday, March 22, at 7:30 p.m. at district headquarters.

By Lindsay Wilkes-Edrington

7:00am

The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Board of Education has postponed the adoption of its tentative budget until Monday evening to give board members three days to adjust it in light of the district's significant loss in state aid.

"This was a surprise," Board President Trip Whitehouse said Thursday of the state's $3.8 million aid reduction to the district. "We don't have time to whine or complain. We've just got to come up with a plan."

Since the district found out Wednesday afternoon that it would be losing $3.8 million from the state, Scotch Plains-Fanwood has been scrambling to restructure its plans for adopting the budget before the state's March 31 deadline.

Members of the finance committee and district officials have been corresponding about the cuts ever since they learned of the impact. They've also been communicating with other NJ school districts, all of whom are suffering from the same problem. Between now and Monday night, the board must reach a tentative decision on what the total budget number will be.

During the Board of Education meeting Thursday night, Business Administrator Anthony Del Sordi reported that after taking into account the aid cuts and some other additional revenue, the district's total net deficit for the 2010-2011 school year will be $3.4 million.

Del Sordi said the district essentially has a few options to make up for that loss: either raise taxes by that much, cut operations by that much, or do some combination of the two.

The district must submit its tentative budget to the county next Tuesday, March 23. Between then and March 31, the date of the public hearing, the board will work to continue to hone the details of where reductions can be made.

Del Sordi noted that the district went into its budget planning process anticipating about a 10 percent reduction in state aid, based on the message that came to them from Trenton and from Education Commissioner Bret Schundler. Consequently, the board worked under the assumption that it would only be losing several hundred thousand dollars from its nearly $80 million budget.

"Unfortunately we were wrong," Del Sordi said.

Instead, Gov. Chris Christie announced Tuesday that the district would lose 5 percent of its total operating budget. The unexpected shift has left districts across the state in a panic.

"He lied," Whitehouse said of the state education commissioner, who said this week that districts knew what to expect. "In no uncertain terms did he talk about the overall budget. At the end of the day I took offense to Schundler implying that school districts knew it was coming and chose to ignore it."

Officials from districts across the area maintain that at a Garden State Coalition meeting in Summit last month, Schundler advised them all to prepare for 10 to 15 percent cuts to their state aid, not to their budget as a whole.

The district had been anticipating approximately $4.05 million in state aid for the 2010-2011 school year. It will now receive just $659,090, Del Sordi said. The district received $4.5 million in aid last year. State aid makes up the second largest portion of the school budget after local sources.

"Regardless of where you stand on what the governor is trying to do, the process we now have to go through is nothing short of moronic," said Board member Donald Parisi. "These are weighty decisions we have to make. We will be thoughtful, we will be level-headed, but something has to be done in a very short order."

So what will the impact be to taxpayers?

Well, the worst-case scenario would be the district dumping the entire deficit on to taxpayers, causing an increase of approximately $675 to Fanwood residents and $447 to Scotch Plains. But, Board President Trip Whitehouse said Thursday: "I can say with confidence it's not going to be that number."

Del Sordi noted that Fanwood's contribution to the budget continues to go up because the equalized valuation in the borough has dropped at a lower rate than Scotch Plains. This year, Fanwoodians contributed 22.25 percent to the budget. That was estimated to rise to 22.68 percent, before the district learned of the state aid cuts. Scotch Plains' contribution had been estimated to drop from 77.7 percent to 77.3.

On Thursday, the board appealed to community members who have suggestions for how to handle the deficit to contact them with those ideas.

"This was unheard of, an astounding reduction," said Board Member Betty Anne Woerner. "There was no hint of this. When the governor announced it to the public, we couldn't believe our ears. We will be working around the clock."

Parents in attendance said they understood the burden the school district is faced with.

"There are many of us in the district who get that a $3.4 million cut is catastrophic," said PTA member Cindy Clancy Warren. "We live in a state that's so broken that local school districts will now be 99 percent funded by taxpayers. Is there any other state like this?"

A few parents pleaded with the board not to cut the Terrill Middle solar project out of the budget, but Whitehouse assured them that it's not part of the operating budget and thus won't be impacted.

One father advised the board to operate more like the private sector and renegotiate contracts, accept volunteers and do whatever else necessary to tighten expenditures.

"There's so many areas where things can be cut by changing the way you do business, not laying off teachers," he said.

Board President Whitehouse said he's already received several phone calls from parents with suggestions, and that he hopes to receive more.

"We can't have a pity party," he said. "We need to keep moving forward."

The board's special meeting to approve the tentative budget will be Monday at 7:30 p.m. at district headquarters.

Scotch Plains, Fanwood Each Lose Several Hundred Thousand in Municipal State Aid

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:02:56 -0400

The state releases the specifics on aid cuts to municipalities Thursday afternoon.

By Lindsay Wilkes-Edrington

March 18, 2010

Editor's Note: This story has been modified and more information will be added as it becomes available.

The state Department of Community Affairs announced Thursday afternoon that Scotch Plains and Fanwood will each lose several hundred thousand dollars in state aid this year. Scotch Plains is slated to lose over $600,000. Fanwood's will drop nearly $200,000.

Scotch Plains dropped from $2,854,052 last year to $2,227,587 this year, a 21.95 percent decrease. The aid this year will include $244,821 in consolidated municipal property tax relief and $1,982,766 in total energy tax receipts.

Fanwood's aid has decreased from $949,450 last year to $755,288 this year, equating to a 20.45 percent decrease. The borough's aid this year includes $28,412 in consolidated municipal property tax relief and $726,876 in total energy tax receipts.

The total state aid distributed to municipalities across New Jersey for fiscal year 2011 is nearly $1.5 billion. The budget for state aid this year has been reduced almost $359 million from last year's total aid appropriation.

Other municipalities in Union County lost about the same percentage as Scotch Plains-Fanwood. Westfield suffered one of the higher reductions amongst county municipalities similar to Scotch Plains — the town lost $941,470, a 23.45 percent decrease from the year before.

Prior to knowing the exact state aid reductions, Mayor Nancy Malool on Tuesday was already acknowledging that the loss would not be easy for the township.

"In Scotch Plains we already have a very lean budget to begin with, so we will have to try to make do the best we can, just like we did last year," Malool said. "There will be some pain along the way, but we'll get through it."

Fanwood's Administration and Finance Comittee council liaison Anthony Parenti also acknowledged at the council's most recent meeting that the borough's budget was somewhat contingent on what Gov. Christie announced this week. The committee says it has already identified several cost-saving reductions to start helping to make up for the loss.

Student's View: What Sites Do District Computers Block? The Answer May Surprise You.

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:07:00 -0400

Scotch Plains-Fanwood High Mike Demmel shares his opinion on banned Web sites on school computers.

By Mike Demmel

March 18, 2010

As we progress into the future, more and more work is done over the internet. Now, practically every school project assigned requires some kind of online research. The school not only expects us to be proficient with our computer skills, but also expects us to utilize the resources available on the web. Many organizations, including Wikipedia, government programs, colleges, and newspapers, have very useful Web sites for students to conduct both independent research as well as class-directed research for various projects and assignments. Unfortunately, the school tech department has deemed many of these Web sites inappropriate for school for a wide variety of reasons. Some of the sites blocked, and the reason they are blocked, may even surprise you.

It is definitely necessary for some Web sites to be blocked on the school server. Obviously sites dealing with drugs or gangs should not be viewable on school computers. But does the Wikipedia page for the House Committee on Armed Services really need to be blocked for references to guns and knives? What about the Economic Policy Institute Web site, or the Georgetown University admissions page? Both of those sites were blocked for references to tobacco and alcohol. I highly doubt that either page contains anything that will corrupt our community's youth.

I've even come across some sites in my research that don't cite a reason for being blocked, they just are. It sort of seems that the department doesn't completely understand what they are blocking or why they are blocking things. They just simply block key words and phrases, even if a site is a known educational information source. On top of all of this, there are plenty of gaming and gossip Web sites that aren't blocked, even though they are most certainly more of a distraction than an aid to the research being done.

I came across another interesting example when doing research on the 14^th Amendment for my last column on Kyleigh's Law. The 14^th Amendment essentially guarantees equal rights to all citizens, and yet it is blocked on the server's because, according to the tech department, it deals with the subject of abortion. The best part is, the word abortion isn't even on the page. Congressman Ron Paul's Web site also fell under the same classification. I completely understand that it is a controversial social issue and some people would feel uncomfortable being able to view that on the school computers. But the reason why it is blocked definitely carries a religious connotation and that definitely can't justify sites discussing the matter being blocked on the public school servers.

The Tech Department works very hard to keep the school computer network both safe and functioning and they're pretty successful at what they do. But I believe more attention should be taken to what sites are being blocked, not just what issues should be blocked. Some sites, mainly government sites, can deal with a certain issue in a respectable manner that often is applicable to a lesson in class, while others handle it in a less educational manner. It is much easier to block everything that even touches upon a negative topic, but it is much more effective for students to learn about the issue from respected sources and only block out the Web sites that cannot be trusted.

Mike Demmel is a senior at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School.

'Curtains' Continues Tonight at SP-F High School

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:51:09 -0400

Additional performances will be held Saturday and Sunday.

By Lindsay Wilkes-Edrington

March 18, 2010

Scotch Plains-Fanwood High's Repertory Theatre will continue its production of the musical "Curtains (The Musical Comedy Whodunnit)" tonight.

The student actors debuted their spring performance last Friday, March 12, and followed it with a performance on Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday, the playwright who wrote "Curtains," Rupert Holmes, attended.

Set in 1959 Boston, "Curtains" follows what happens when the untalented star of the show within the show, Robbin' Hood of the Old West, is murdered during her opening night curtain call. The production follows a police detective who moonlights as a musical theater fan to see if he can save the show, solve the case and find love before the show reopens, without getting himself killed.

"It's a lot of fun," said John Brzozowski, the high school's repertory theatre director. "It has a very intricate story line and is suspenseful at times. It's funny. You can expect to laugh."

"Curtains" will open tonight at 7 p.m. There will also be performances on Friday, March 19 and Saturday, March 20, both at 8 p.m. All take place at the Manya Ungar Memorial Auditorium at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School.

Prices are $12 for adults, $8 for seniors (age 60 and up) and $8 for students.

SP-F High Baseball Field Not Ready for Season Start

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:51:00 -0400

The Raiders will likely have to play all of their April games away.

By JR Parachini

March 18, 2010

The Scotch Plains-Fanwood High baseball team – defending Union County Tournament champions - may not play a home game until May because of construction that is presently being done on the varsity field.

According to seventh-year head coach Tom Baylock, the infield was dug up in February so that drains could be put in.

"It's something that needed to be done, although the timing is not the best right now," said Baylock, who has guided Scotch Plains to its last two UCT crowns, including its third in 2004, which was during his first year at the helm.

The Raiders are practicing at Park Middle School and will host their first scrimmage there Friday at 4 p.m. against Somerset County foe Hillsborough.

Baylock hoped that the work that is being done could have taken place sooner so that the field would have been ready for the first day of practice, which was March 5.

"The field never had drainage," he said.

The coach explained that all the dirt around home plate and down the first base and third base lines was dug up to two feet.

"They're putting drains in to connect to a bunch of catch basins outside the fencing," Baylock said. "The drains have to be put in and then some stone and top soil and some sand and clay. Hopefully, by Friday or Saturday, the drains will be finished and then they can start with some other stuff. All the rain we just had didn't help."

Scotch Plains - which went 22-5 last year, captured its fourth UCT crown and first since 2004 and reached the North 2, Group 3 final – is scheduled to open the season at home against Plainfield on April 1.

That is one of eight home dates the Raiders have in April and one of four against Union County Conference-Watchung Division foes. Scotch Plains is one of seven teams situated in the UCC's Watchung Division this year, which is the first baseball season of the newly-formed conference.

"I'll have to sit down with our athletic director (Rob Harmer) and figure out what we'll do with our schedule," Baylock said. "All of our conference home games in April may be switched to away games and then we'll play those teams at home in May. Hopefully, by the end of April the field will be ready. That would mean we would be home, basically, for all of May."

The four scheduled conference home games in April that will most likely be switched to away games are Plainfield April 1, Westfield April 16, Union April 22 and Rahway April 27 – all 4 p.m. starts.

If that turns out to be the case, then Scotch Plains will be scheduled to host Plainfield April 30 (provided the field is ready by then), Westfield on May 7, Union on May 11 and Rahway on May 13.

Baylock said that non-conference April home games against J.P. Stevens of North Edison on April 3, Piscataway on April 6, Roselle Catholic on April 14 and Roselle on April 20 will be played at Park Middle School.

On Saturday, April 10, Scotch Plains will be one of eight teams involved in the first Autism Awareness Showcase at North Brunswick's back-to-back baseball fields at Community Park.

There are four Union County vs. Middlesex County matchups scheduled, with Roselle Park facing Spotswood and Plainfield vs. North Brunswick at 3 p.m., followed by Scotch Plains vs. Edison and Elizabeth against Monroe at 6 p.m.

In order to highlight the growing need for concern and awareness about autism, the Autism Society has been celebrating National Autism Awareness Month since the 1970s. The United States recognizes April as a special opportunity for everyone to educate the public about autism and issues within the autism community.

Baylock said that second-year Dunellen head coach Leo Danik is running the event.

Scotch Plains will play the following weekend in one of nine games scheduled at the second annual Dads Club Invitational at Roselle Park. Baylock is a 1992 Roselle Park graduate.

The Raiders are set to play Bloomfield at 11 a.m. in the first of three games on tap for the final day of the three-day event, which is Sunday, April 18.

Here's a look at the Union County Conference alignment for baseball this season:

Watchung Division (7 teams): Scotch Plains-Fanwood, Westfield, Union, Elizabeth, Plainfield, Linden, Rahway.

Mountain Division (8): Gov. Livingston, Cranford, Johnson, Summit, Roselle Catholic, Roselle, Hillside, Union Catholic.

Valley Division (7): Roselle Park, Brearley, New Providence, Dayton, Oratory Prep, St. Mary's of Elizabeth, St. Patrick.

Here's a look at home scrimmages for Scotch Plains at Park Middle School:

Friday, March 19: vs. Hillsborough, 4 p.m.

Tuesday, March 23: vs. Somerville, 4 p.m.

Wednesday, March 24: vs. Belleville, 4 p.m.

Monday, March 29: vs. Roselle Park, 4 p.m.

NYTimes.com: Caracter May Make it After All

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:10:52 -0400

The Fanwood native is set to play in the first round of the N.C.A.A. tournament today.

March 18, 2010

The New York Times has a story Thursday profiling Fanwood native and basketball star Derrick Caracter.

The story follows his basketball history from eighth grade to his time now on the University of Texas-El Paso team, and interviews everyone from his parents to Scotch Plains-Fanwood High basketball coach Dan Doherty. Read it here.

Education Commissioner Defends Hefty Cut in State Aid to SP-F, Other Districts

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:00:00 -0400

The school district's state aid cuts were much steeper than expected.

By Lindsay Wilkes-Edrington and John Celock

March 18, 2010

State Education Commissioner Bret Schundler on Wednesday defended the governor's significant cut to New Jersey school districts' state aid, telling reporters that previous Democratic administrations and the loss of $1 billion in federal stimulus funds are partly to blame for the reduction.

The Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District found out Wednesday afternoon that it will lose $3.84 million in state aid for the 2010-2011 school year. Fifty-nine other districts, including Berkeley Heights, New Providence, Springfield and Summit, had their state aid eliminated entirely.

The reductions come on the heels of Gov. Chris Christie's budget speech on Tuesday, in which he stated that school districts would see an aid cut that would equal no more than 5 percent of their total operating budgets.

In a conference call with reporters, Schundler said that districts had been told to anticipate this reduction in aid.

"Districts had the understanding that it would be 15 percent and it is a number that is less than that," Schundler said.

But the Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District and others were operating under the impression that the 15 percent cut would be out of the aid they receive, not out of their total operating budgets.

In a series of recent budget presentations, SP-F Business Administrator Anthony Del Sordi told the Board of Education that the district was preparing a budget under the assumption that it would lose about 15 percent of its state aid, dropping the amount they receive to about $4 million. Instead on Wednesday, the school district learned that it would actually lose 4.99 percent of its total operating budget of nearly $80 million. That slashed state formula aid by $3.84 million, dropping the amount they'll receive to just $708,590. The money goes toward general education expenses. This figure excludes about $5 million in specialized state aid used for debt service, Social Security payroll taxes, etc.

Schundler pointed to the loss of federal stimulus money as one reason state aid was cut so much. The education commissioner noted that funds from last year's stimulus package were used to partially pay for state aid payments at that time. The federal aid was meant as a one-time payment to states.

On Wednesday, Schundler said that the state legislature can avert layoffs at the school district level by implementing Christie's package of public employee reforms in a quick time frame. The package includes changing the pension and health benefits packages for teachers, including requiring co-pays and larger payments for pensions. The co-pays will apply to school personnel who retire after the changes are made, but not to those who leave their jobs before the proposals are enacted.

Schundler said this will allow for more quick retirements from teachers who do not want to pay part of their health insurance in retirement. He said quick enactment, which is not considered likely, will help stem the expected layoffs in school districts statewide.

"That will dramactically reduce the number of personnel reductions that would be achieved through a layoff," he said. "These reforms will reduce costs to the districts and create a need for early retirements."

The Scotch Plains-Fanwood district will have the option to raise property taxes above the four percent state cap in order to make up for the lost school aid, but Schundler said the county superintendents will be looking to hold property tax hikes under the four percent cap and are prepared to veto spending over this amount.

Schundler said he believes that school districts can accomplish the cuts by the March 30 deadline for school budgets to be submitted for voter approval. He said he has instructed county superintendents to throughly review each school district budget and be prepared to make line item vetos in order to make further reductions before the budgets go to the voters on April 20. State law allows county superintendents to make these vetos.

The Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District is expected to present its tentative budget at the Board of Education meeting tonight, March 18, at 8 p.m. at district headquarters. The public hearing on the budget is scheduled for March 31.

School District Loses $3.8 Million in State Aid

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:09:00 -0400

The numbers were released Wednesday afternoon.

By Lindsay Wilkes-Edrington

March 17, 2010

The Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District will lose $3.84 million in state aid for the 2010-2011 school year.

The numbers, released by the state Department of Education Wednesday afternoon, call for Scotch Plains-Fanwood to lose 84.4 percent of its aid for the next year, dropping the money it will receive from the state to $708,590. The $3.84 million cut reflects Gov. Chris Christie's call on Tuesday to slash state aid by no more than 5 percent of a district's total budget.

Up until now, the district had been preparing its budget with the expectation that it would lose 1o to 15 percent of its expected state aid, which only would have lost them a few hundred thousand dollars and would have still guaranteed them at least $4 million. Now that $3.84 million has been cut, the district will likely have to refigure many of its plans.

The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Board of Education is expected to present its tentative 2010-2011 budget at its meeting Thursday night at 8 p.m. at district headquarters.

Complete details on the figures for SP-F and all other NJ school districts can be found on the document attached to this story above.

Note: This story is still developing. Patch will report more information as it becomes available.