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NY Times - For New Jersey School Budget Votes, Tempers and Tax Rises Ease … “Ridgewood is proposing an $86.8 million budget with a 2 percent tax increase after an $849,425 rise in state aid erased a projected shortfall of $600,000. Last year, residents rejected a 4 percent increase, the first budget defeat since 2003. “The mood is not as dire as it was last year,” said Daniel Fishbein, the Ridgewood superintendent. “This budget does not propose any cuts in personnel or programs. But neither will it allow us to hire additional teachers to meet increases in enrollment, nor fund capital improvements at a level that we had done in the past.”
Daily News ‘Daily Politics’ Randi Weingarten, Al Sharpton To Team Up For New Jersey Teachers Ahead Of Budget Vote
Njspotlight.com - Fine Print: Federal Waiver for Special Education Cuts
Courier Post Online - Proposed bill would penalize N.J. towns, counties that reject shared services
NY Times - For New Jersey School Budget Votes, Tempers and Tax Rises Ease
By WINNIE HU Published: April 25, 2011
Little drama. Limited tax increases. Fewer draconian cuts.
Despite the imposition of a cap this year that limits the increase in property tax collections to 2 percent, school districts in New Jersey are heading into budget elections on Wednesday largely free of the anger and turmoil of last year’s budget season.
Last year, voters defeated 58 percent of school budgets after Gov. Chris Christie urged taxpayers to hold the line on higher taxes in the districts where teachers had refused to accept wage freezes. It was the highest failure rate since at least 1976.
This year, in districts like Edison Township, where voters last year rejected an 8.6 percent increase in property tax collections, the district is calling for a 1.7 percent increase — the lowest in 24 years.
The Teaneck district is seeking no increase at all, planning instead to supplement tax revenue with user fees for bus service, sports and extracurricular activities.
Even a well-to-do district like Ridgewood is sticking to a modest 2 percent increase in tax revenue, which will maintain existing programs but not pay for additional teachers to meet growing enrollment.
Statewide, nearly 87 percent of the 538 districts with budgets on the ballot will propose raising their taxes by no more than 2 percent, adhering to the annual limit set by the tax cap pushed through by Governor Christie. About 71 districts will go over 2 percent to cover large increases for health insurance, pensions and higher enrollment — spending that is allowed under the cap.
Eleven districts are also seeking voter approval on separate ballot questions to raise additional tax revenue for specific proposals, which include restoring sports programs and having full-day kindergarten.
“It hasn’t been easy, but I don’t think it’s going to be a repeat of last year in the voting booth,” said Frank Belluscio, a spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association.
Jerry Cantrell, president of the New Jersey Taxpayers Alliance, which supported the tax cap, said he was optimistic about the smaller tax increases, though he cautioned that budget numbers were, by and large, self-reported by the districts.
“On the surface, it sounds like an improvement,” Mr. Cantrell said. “I think the message went out and the majority of them are taking it seriously and know they’re going to be watched, but I would still caution every taxpayer to take a close look at those numbers.”
In New York, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a freshman Democrat, proposed a 2 percent cap on property tax increases, to help rein in rising costs for homeowners, but a cap was not part of the budget agreement he reached with the Legislature. The agreement did restore some of the deep cuts in state aid that Mr. Cuomo had proposed, easing some of the pain for districts and for taxpayers, who will vote on budgets next month.
In New Jersey last year , many of the property tax increases were sought by districts to close budget gaps after Mr. Christie, a Republican who was in his first year in office, cut direct aid to individual districts by up to 5 percent of their budgets to help close an $11 billion state deficit. A $1 billion infusion of federal stimulus money for schools had run out last year.
As state revenues have rebounded, Mr. Christie increased aid by $250 million for 2011-12, effectively restoring one percentage point of the 5 percent reductions to districts. Because most districts, not expecting any increase, had not factored it into their budgets, they were able to use the money as a cushion against further layoffs and program cuts. In some cases, it has even led to the restoration of services that were eliminated last year over protests from students and parents.
Edison Township will receive $1.9 million more in state aid, along with $579,000 in federal jobs financing for teachers that it saved from the current year. Daniel Michaud, the district’s business administrator, said the money was used to hold down taxes as well as to restore 27 of the 131 teaching positions eliminated in 2010-11; 19 of them will be in the elementary grades, to reduce class size.
The district, which cut a total of $18.3 million last year, also plans to bring back middle school sports, after-school bus service and stipends for advisers to clubs and honor societies. Mr. Michaud said, however, that there was not enough money to return kindergarten classes to full-day from half-day. “A lot of parents are feeling the pinch of some of the things we lost,” he said.
Ridgewood is proposing an $86.8 million budget with a 2 percent tax increase after an $849,425 rise in state aid erased a projected shortfall of $600,000. Last year, residents rejected a 4 percent increase, the first budget defeat since 2003.
“The mood is not as dire as it was last year,” said Daniel Fishbein, the Ridgewood superintendent. “This budget does not propose any cuts in personnel or programs. But neither will it allow us to hire additional teachers to meet increases in enrollment, nor fund capital improvements at a level that we had done in the past.”
Even districts without direct budget elections are feeling pressure to hold down property taxes. In Montclair, where the budget is adopted by a board consisting of town and school officials, the tax collections will drop by 3.6 percent. The district, which will receive an additional $1 million in state aid, is planning to save $1.3 million more in health benefits, by either outsourcing 250 teaching assistant positions or negotiating union concessions. In addition, it expects to lay off eight teachers.
Superintendents and school board members say they were helped by lower overall costs after making big cuts last year. Following the defeat of Teaneck’s budget, which called for a record 10.2 percent tax increase, the district eliminated 45 teaching positions and four administrative positions as part of a $6.1 million reduction.
Teaneck is again facing a tight budget because, while it is to receive an additional $903,933 in state aid, it must also provide about $1.4 million to a new charter school, resulting in an overall gap of about $500,000. But instead of raising taxes, district officials negotiated $264,000 in salary and benefit concessions from custodians and groundskeepers, scaled back busing service and developed alternative revenue sources.
Under the bus proposal, students in first through fourth grade who live closer than the state-mandated two miles from school will no longer receive free busing, saving the district $260,000. In addition, the district would consolidate some bus stops, to save another $85,000.
The district is also considering starting a subscription bus service to raise $75,000 annually in fees from students in Teaneck and neighboring communities who are not eligible for free busing from their districts. It is also planning to raise $25,000 by charging students to participate in sports and extracurricular activities, and another $25,000 by raising rental fees to outside groups using school buildings.
“All of this hinges on the voters’ coming out and voting yes on the budget,” said Robert Finger, the Teaneck business administrator. “If they come out and vote no on the budget, then it goes to the Township Council and they can order even more cuts.”
April 25, 2011 4:20 PM 1 comment
Daily News ‘Daily Politics’ Randi Weingarten, Al Sharpton To Team Up For New Jersey Teachers Ahead Of Budget Vote
I seem to be doing a lot on protests and labor today, so here's one more tidbit for you:
President Randi Weingarten -- who, of course, most of us remember as the former head of the UFT -- will hit three New Jersey events tomorrow, including a rally to keep open the Vineland Developmental Center, a Trenton roundtable with local and state officials at Shiloh Baptist Church and a Newark rally for working families with the Rev. Al Sharpton.
“It’s important to understand that the issues that bring us together today aren’t just labor issues. They’re not just economic or political issues. They are really human rights issues,” Weingarten said in an AFT statement.
As Winnie Hu over at the NYT noted today, "Despite the imposition of a cap this year that limits the increase in property tax collections to 2%, school districts in New Jersey are heading into budget elections on Wednesday largely free of the anger and turmoil of last year’s budget season. Last year, voters defeated 58% of school budgets after Gov. Chris Christie urged taxpayers to hold the line on higher taxes in the districts where teachers had refused to accept wage freezes. It was the highest failure rate since at least 1976."
Christie, the GOP star who's had some tough talk when it comes to the teachers unions, said last week that he's "willing to compromise with the New Jersey Education Association on changing the entrenched tenure and evaluation systems, but insisted on sticking to the core principle of measuring teachers by student learning."
Njspotlight.com - Fine Print: Federal Waiver for Special Education Cuts
Federal agency gives New Jersey the OK to make a one-time cut of $26 million in special education funding
By John Mooney, April 26 in Education
Summary: The U.S. Department of Education gives New Jersey a one-year pass from the so-called maintenance of effort requirement that demands no cuts be made in special education funding.
Related Links
What it means: The waiver request was no certainty, one of a few granted by the federal government, and left the state potentially in the hole to restore an estimated $25.7 million in funding. The state provides about $1.2 billion overall in special education aid.
Extraordinary circumstances: The waivers have typically been few and far between, granted only due to "exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances." Before last year, for instance, one of the few granted was to the state of Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. Four have been granted this year, all due to dropping tax revenues.
Key line: "We do so carefully and reluctantly, given the importance we place on maintaining State financial support for our most vulnerable students."
The math worked in the state’s favor: The state’s cut represented a 2 percent reduction in special education funding from 2009-2010 levels, significantly less than the 13 percent state aid cut overall and the 19 percent cut in general education aid.
Regrets from special ed community: "We’re very disappointed, because we know a lot of the impact of the cuts was in special education programs in high-needs communities," said Peg Kinsell, director of public policy, Statewide Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN).
A future warning: The feds said they will do a follow-up audit to insure the cuts weren’t even deeper. The letter also said the state is required to maintain special education funding going into next year at the same $1.2 billion level that would have been required without the waiver.
Public disclosure: The state is required to post this letter "prominently" on its website, and also to publicly report any updates to its special education advisory board by this summer. A link to the waiver request and this correspondence is indeed on the state Department of Education’s office of special education web page.
Courier Post Online - Proposed bill would penalize N.J. towns, counties that reject shared services
Apr. 26, 2011 | Written bySHRUTI MATHUR DESAI Courier-Post Staff
Municipalities may soon have no choice but to share services.
Under a bill proposed recently by State Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney, towns and counties would face a monetary penalty if voters reject shared services proved by a state commission to save money.
The legislation -- backed by Assembly members Pamela Lampitt, D-Camden, and Paul Moriarty, D-Gloucester -- would put the issue to vote during a general election. If voters reject the measure, they could lose state aid, Sweeney said.
"We tried the carrot approach, where we give towns money, we give counties money, to do shared services," Sweeney said.
"We tried the carrot and it didn't work. So here's the stick."
The legislation comes on the heels of a Camden County effort to explore countywide police and fire services, a plan announced in the wake of massive layoffs in Camden city.
Camden County freeholders insist they are acting as facilitators and will not force any municipalities to join in the countywide services, but Freeholder-Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said the Sweeney legislation may force municipalities to do just that.
"Public safety is one of the biggest expenses at the municipal level," Cappelli said.
"I think when you combine the 2 percent cap with Sen. Sweeney's legislation, there will be many more shared service agreements coming.
"It's forcing municipalities in that direction."
Sweeney has constantly driven home the message of shared services across the state, including at a recent editorial board meeting with the Asbury Park Press, where he used examples from his time as a Gloucester County freeholder.
He noted that he combined that county's vocational-technical and special services schools to save $1.3 million a year, and instituted a countywide police dispatch system to save money.
He acknowledged, though, that the police dispatch initiative took eight years to implement, and more work needs to be done.
Sweeney says the savings range from $22,937 in Elk Township to $779,887 in Glassboro.
"We had a mayor say "Well, it's only a little bit of money we can save,' " Sweeney said.
"But that's my point. Every dollar is a dollar that should be considered to see if we can bring the cost of government down."
Lampitt said one of the main issues at hand is to make residents and government officials comfortable with the idea of change.
"People can talk on both sides of their mouth saying we want change, but not to me," Lampitt said.
"We can do this without diminishing the identity (of towns). We can be doing these things that are seamless to the resident while controlling and possibly lowering their property taxes."
But despite the hard talk on shared services, change doesn't come quickly. It was eight years before all Gloucester County municipalities agreed to the plan, first implemented in 2000 with eight towns on board. Sweeney said the delay resulted from a combination of patronage and home rule.
"Local government didn't want to give up control," Sweeney explained. "A lot of people knew who the dispatchers were. They said, "This was a friend of mine, it's a family member.' "
At the time, police dispatchers argued any budgetary savings would be negated by the loss of police services to the community. They insisted their argument had nothing to do with job loss.
One month after the first eight towns signed on, eight more joined, but the county's largest towns -- including Washington Township, Deptford and Monroe -- held out for several more years, with Monroe finally joining in August of 2007.
"There was a concern, originally, that we wouldn't be able to get on air all the time like we needed to be," said Sgt. George Johnson, a Deptford Police detective. "I was very apprehensive, as an officer, when it happened."
But the dispatch service is a success for Deptford, because the large municipality was able to zone out its own dedicated set of dispatchers from the pool in Clayton, with the advantage of being able to pull additional dispatchers in the case of a major incident, Johnson said. Several years ago, Deptford had a bank robbery that included a car crash, a foot chase and securing of the town's mall. The dispatch in Clayton was able to use additional dispatchers to help.
Johnson said there is always risk in making public safety changes.
"Nobody ever wants to gamble that way," he explained. "But to me it's been a real success."
Gloucester County Freeholder Joe Chila is a former mayor of Woolwich Township, one of the first towns to sign on to the countywide dispatch plan. He said combining dispatch didn't stir the same amount of emotion in residents as fire and police.
"I think the average citizen doesn't care who's on the other end of the phone," Chila said. "You just want that person to be trained and get that help immediately."
The county is now working on a countywide EMS plan to which only 15 towns in Gloucester County have agreed to join. Chila said the reason more towns are slow to sign on is that people feel more connected to the volunteers who staff many of the EMS teams.
"When you get into other shared services, for example, police shared services, you investigate and make sure it's in the best interest," added Chila, who cited the merged Woolwich-Swedesboro police force as an example of where the plan works.
Johnson said Deptford is not a town that sees a need to join a countywide EMS because it has its own paid force, unlike the smaller municipalities that rely on a volunteer ambulance service. But, he added, "Countywide dispatch was a success. I think we're eventually gonna see countywide ambulance."
The EMS plan is saving those 15 municipalities $2.8 million a year, according to the county, with Glassboro saving nearly $800,000 a year.
Sweeney said he doesn't believe his legislation strongarms any town into accepting shared services.
"You don't get any emails about how bad the service is," Sweeney said. "All the rhetoric is up to it happening. All the articles are about people thinking it's not safe, not having good service and then it happens and all of the sudden people realize, this is working fine.
"And it does."
Reach Shruti Mathur Desai at (856) 317-7828 or smathur@camden.gannett.com
