Superintendent Makes Final Pitch for School Budget

With only days before the April 17 school election, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jorden Schiff came to the Tuesday evening and gave one final presentation of the $113 million budget that will go before township voters next week.

Under state law, if the budget is defeated by voters, it will then go to the Township Committee who can decide to cut it, maintain it or raise it. The Board of Education then has the option of accepting of the Township Committee’s decision or appealing it to the state Department of Education.

Deputy Mayor Gloria McCauley said she was “happy” to see that the budget was $1 million under the cap.

“We know how difficult it is,” she told the superintendent.

Committeeman Frank DelCore said Schiff’s budget presentation was “very important” because the state “looks favorably” on school boards and municipalities working together.

“We appreciate the information,” he said.

Schiff reiterated the significant portions of the proposed spending plan for the 2012-13 school year.

Under the terms of the budget, the school property tax on an average Hillsborough home assessed at $368,700 will increase by $37, Schiff said. Taxes on a home assessed at $150,000 will increase $15 while taxes on a $700,000 house will increase by $70.

In Millstone, the tax increase will be larger because of a 5 percent decrease in ratables, the superintendent said. Taxes on an average home in Millstone assessed at $324,474 will increase by $209, with taxes on a $150,000 home increasing by $97 and $451 on a house assessed at $700,000.

Among the key parts of the budget, Schiff explained, is a comprehensive revision of the district’s curriculum, which is mandated by the state.

“We don’t have a choice,” he said.

The budget also calls for the restoration of a world language program in grades K-4. The program, eliminated in previous austere budget years, will teach both Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, the superintendent said.

The budget will also add 5.5 teaching positions in a “targeted” plan to reduce class size at the middle and high schools.

The district will also enter into a four-year leasing program at an annual cost of $300,00 to $400,000 to provide every teacher with a laptop computer, Schiff said. Interest rate on the program is less than 1.5 percent.

“That’s remarkable,” he said.

The district will also be saving $1.5 million in health insurance costs thanks to an agreement with the Hillsborough Education Association, the teachers union, on the amount that teachers will contribute to their health insurance costs.

Teachers now pay 12 percent of their health insurance premiums and that will rise to 18 percent next year, the superintendent said.

Because dental insurance premiums are declining 4 percent, the district was also able to add two more teaching positions, the superintendent said.

The budgets also includes $508,000 in capital projects, with most of the projects at the middle and high schools, including the replacement of stage lighting at the middle school and repainting the gym floors at the high school.

The budget also includes an energy audit of all district schools to determine measurers that could save money in the future, the superintendent said.

The district is also saving money by having more special education students stay within the district, rather than paying tuition for out-of-district programs, Schiff explained.

Also adding to the budget picture is increased revenue from the district’s new CAP program, a half-day kindergarten program extension for which parents pay tuition. There are now 31 children in the program and already 48 are enrolled for next year.

“We’re actually in the black,” Schiff said.