BOE Passes School Budget, Tax Bump for SPF Residents

The Board of Education unanimously approved the $85.6 million 2012-2013 School Budget, which jumped $1.2 million. The higher taxes are, in part, a result of long awaited roof and HVAC repairs as well as rising enrollment necessitating additional staff.

The new budget, approved Thursday night, earned the support of the County Superintendent and Department of Education, comes in below the required 2 percent cap. To bring the tax levy down to 1.66 percent, the Board will be returning $251,411 that came in the form of additional aid to the tax payers.

At $2.75 million, the district does see a small increase in state aid. However, BOE President Trip Whitehouse noted that the Board is dealing with a about half the amount of state aid that had been given in previous years.

“One of the struggles that we have had as a community is that, in 2010-2011, we were given only $659,000 in state aid. From 2005 to 2010, the numbers were around $4.1 million. As recently as 2009-2010, it was 4.5 million. I know residents will ask us about the recent increase, but it’s important when looking at a historical reference to go back further than two years.”  

As mandated in 2011 by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, the amount paid by residents reflects the population of each town.

In 2012-2013, Scotch Plains residents will pay $59.3 million of the tax levy with Fanwoodians picking up the remaining $16.9 million. This will mean an increase of $71 for Scotch Plains residents and $9 for Fanwood residents.

75 percent of the new budget will reflect the cost of employee salaries and benefits. The remaining 25 percent will cover the cost of special education services, instructional support services, custodial maintenance, utilities, and commercial insurance.

Whitehouse explained that the Board had to create room in the budget to support additional staffing needs in order to maintain current class sizes. Additional positions will include a shared middle school nurse, a school social worker, a special education teacher, 1 to 2 high school teachers, and 1 to 2 middle school teachers.

The district is anticipating a growth of 75 high school students next year. The middle schools alone have seen a growth of 154 students over the past five years. Three more positions including an Anti-Bullying Coordinator and an elementary education teacher will be funded by a stimulus grant. The Board has also approved the hire of a psychology and a Mandarin teacher for the high school.

Supported by the 2012-2013 budget, construction will begin this summer to replace the roof tops of , , , and School. The architecture will be handled by Potter Architects.

The Board will also begin the long range project of replacing the 17 HVAC roof units atop . The units that service the gym and the multipurpose room will be serviced this summer.

“These units are original to the school, which makes them over 50 years old,” Whitehouse said. “The parts are not even available anymore, but our maintenance teams have been adept at making the parts needed to keep our system running.”     

The budget will also support the growing curriculum and technology initiatives expanding throughout all SPF schools. Each elementary school will receive a mobile computer lab and the middle schools will see updated equipment in each computer lab.

In a technology update given at a previous meeting, Assistant Superintendent, Joan Mast explained the value of giving student access to technology in each and every classroom.

Other curriculum initiatives supported by the budget include: keyboard, business, AP Calculus/Statistics, and Mandarin II classes. Plans to expand the district’s anti-bullying efforts will also be supported.

Although there will not be a public vote on the budget, the Board encouraged the public to approach BOE members with questions or comments at any time. There will be public hearings presenting the same information at each of the district’s schools in the coming weeks.

“I think that this Board has tried to be very responsible in moving forward in terms of things like technology and our facility needs as well as how the budget affects the tax payers,” BOE Vice President Nancy Bauer said. “We are most likely one of the only schools around that is returning money [additional aid] to the tax payer.”