Extra State, Federal Money Aimed at Staffing and Programs

The district hopes to use additional revenue from federal grants, unanticipated aid and other sources to fill certain staff vacancies, while also leaving about $400,000 for potential tax relief.

The Board of Education discussed the staff additions, some of which would be for a single year during its meeting Monday. The potential position additions include a harassment and anti-bullying coordinator and an additional vice principal at Hillsborough High School.

The board is still discussing many of the positions and has not approved them yet.

The Education Jobs Grant, which totals $885,352 for Hillsborough, would cover the district’s response to educational intervention position, technology trainers for the interactive projectors, training support staff and class size reduction, Human Resources Committee Chairman Chris Pulsifer said.

That includes $51, 245 in salaries and $17,994 in health benefits each for three response to intervention coordinators, $55,330 in salaries and $17,994 in health benefits each for three technology trainers, $51,245 in salaries and $17,994 in health benefits for four class size reduction positions. $80,000 of the grant will go toward coverage needed for staff training, $60,000 will be used toward academic coaches who will meet with students before and after school and $40,707 will be used to provide early and late busses for before and after school programs.

Many of the positions and programs funded through the grant would only exist for one year, since the grant funds will not be available in subsequent years.

Positions funded through breakage—which is when the district fills a vacant position at a lower pay rate— include the potential vice principal position, a community outreach coordinator, a crisis management psychologist, moving an HMS clerk position from clerk to secretary, a part-time health benefits coordinator and a senior systems engineer for the Information Technology Department.

The district estimates those positions at $65,945 in salary and $17,994 in benefits for the crisis management psychologist, $70,000 in salary and $17,994 in benefits for a community outreach coordinator, $95,000 in salary and $17,994 in benefits for the high school vice principal position, a $7,889 salary increase for moving the middle school clerk position to a secretary position, and $85,000 in salaries and $17,994 in benefits for the senior systems engineer.

The total salaries and benefits funded through breakage is $433,258, which leaves $154,656 in revenue made through breakage.

The potential vice principal follows many years of requests for a fourth position at the high school, a proposal typically cut during budget season. Now, with the district nixing many content supervisor positions, the existing principals have taken on those duties.

“We followed that discussion with a discussion about adding a vice principal in the high school,” Pulsifer said. “We discussed with Karen Bingert .  .  .the current ratio of students to vice principals along with the impact of minor cuts to department supervision that have put more work on the vice principals that are there.”

The committee also compared the ratio of students to vice principals in similar districts in Somerset County, as well as in similar districts in New Jersey, Pulsifer said. Hillsborough High School has three vice principals now, with each vice principal being responsible for about 800 students.

The number of vice principals at the high school is the same as it was 12 years ago, though the student population has increased by 800 students—from 1,600 to 2,400—Hillsborough High School Principal Karen Bingert said.

In Somerset County, Bridgewater Raritan High School has 705 students per vice principal, Franklin High School has 505 students per vice principal, Montgomery High School has 571 students per vice principal and Watchung Hills Regional High School has 692 students per vice principal, Bingert said.

 “When you’re looking at comparative information with other school districts, we are definitely on the low side,” she said.

But the two committees that were able to meet took different perspectives on the vice principal position. The Human Resources Committee fully supported adding the position, whereas the Education Committee had a split reaction about adding the position. In addition, Education Committee Chairman Judy Haas said the committee would like input from the district’s Finance and Operations Committee, which has not yet had the chance to meet.

Positions funded through the unanticipated $1 million in state aid include $15,434 toward the elementary world language program, for six positions salaried at $51,245 each with benefits costing $17,994 each.  The positions would bring the district back into compliance with state requirements.

Other positions funded through the unanticipated aid include a $25,500 harassment, intimidation, and bullying coordinator—a position required by the state’s new bullying and intimidation policies— and four positions aimed at reducing class sizes, as salaries of $51,245 each. The five positions would cost the district $17,994 each in benefit costs.

The district also allocated $30,747 toward targeted math assistance at Hillsborough High School, though the position has no benefits associated with it.

The resulting position additions have the district spending $766, 631 of the $1 million in unanticipated aid on personnel costs, leaving $266,701 in unused funds. That $266,701 coupled with the $154,656 in revenue from breakage leaves the district with $421, 357 in unused funds.

The $421,357 could be used toward the district’s anticipated charter school payment obligation, toward tax relief or toward other areas, Schiff said. The decision on using those funds will be up to the board and subject to its input, he added.

Still, Schiff acknowledged the addition of a vice principal is a complicated decision for the district and for the board.

“I know that this is not an easy decision by any stretch of the imagination,” Schiff said. “I did ask the board at what level are we spending too little on a critical area. .  . I guess if everything were fine, we would not be here, asking about this. But we are starting to see things a bit differently now.”

Even if the district used all of its unanticipated aid toward staffing shortages, leaving no money for tax relief, it would still be $3 million below the aid levels seen in the 2009-2010 school year, Schiff noted.

“My proposal is that we try to have a balanced approach between trying to address the needs that I’ve identified and that I think that many of you agree with,” Schiff said. “We try to re-fund those particular areas and still try to provide some tax relief. I don’t think $400,000 is a small amount. I think it shows a reasonable recognition that we’re still in poor economic times.”