After the biggest budget cuts in Scotch Plains-Fanwood school board history, what are students' biggest complaints? Their agenda books now cost $5, and – as always – lunch lines can be long. "There's nothing too bad," sophomore Jeffrey Pershay Jr., 16, said. "Sometimes it takes a long time to get food…but that's it." The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Board of Education lost about $3.8 million in state aid in March. One month later, voters rejected the board's proposed budget, and the board accepted another $860,000 in cuts recommended by the Scotch Plains and Fanwood councils. Those reductions, …

The spring of 2010 was the most contentious period for the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Board of Education in recent memory. It started in March, when the state unexpectedly cut $3.8 million in education aid for the Scotch Plains-Fanwood school district. In response, the Board of Education proposed a three-part approach: reduce spending by about $1 million, pass about $1 million onto tax payers and address another $1.2 million later. The proposal included a tax levy of $79.4 million – a $299 increase for Scotch Plains residents, and a $439 increase for Fanwood residents. When the budget went to …