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'N.J. may revive proposal to extend life of school buses' Star-Ledger
'Montgomery faces school budget challenges' - THE TIMES 'Gov. Chris Christie vetoes funding for over-budget Burlington High School project' - Star Ledger
N.J. may revive proposal to extend life of school buses
By Ryan Hutchins/For The Star-Ledger
January 29, 2010, 6:01AM
A bill to extend the life of school buses in New Jersey, which passed both houses of the state legislature unanimously but was never signed by former Gov. Jon Corzine, may be revived.
If Corzine hadn’t withheld his approval — a move called a “pocket veto” — the bill would have allowed schools to use some newer buses for up to 15 years, not the 12 currently allowed.
Despite assurances from supporters that the changes posed no danger to students because of rigorous inspections, Corzine felt he “should always err on the side of caution,” said Joshua Zeitz, a spokesman for the former governor.
“He pocket vetoed it because New Jersey actually has one of the most stringent school bus safety laws in the country, and the governor thought it was not a good idea to dilute those safety regulations,” Zeitz said.
Supporters, who say the legislation is considered timely, plan to resurrect the bill. The fiscal situation for many districts isn’t good right now, especially amid rumors that state aid to schools may be reduced. Districts could really use the extra life out of buses, which can cost $50,000 each, the supporters say.
“This was a very important piece of legislation to the various school districts in New Jersey,” said Candice Howard, chief of staff for Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan (D-Middlesex), the bill’s original sponsor. “We heard from many of them this was really going to help them with their budgets.”
Diegnan, she said, plans to reintroduce the legislation in hopes Gov. Chris Christie will sign it into law. The only opposition to the changes came from lobbyists for the school bus manufacturers who, like Corzine, raised concerns about the safety of keeping the vehicles on the road longer, Howard said.
“The truth of the matter is the buses are... inspected twice a year,” she said.
Among supporters for the extension is the New Jersey School Boards Association.
“We felt the manufactures of the buses had come far enough along with the safety factors that extending the life of buses would not” jeopardize the lives or security of any children, said Frank Belluscio, a spokesman for the association.
He said the organizations supports reintroduction. So do the YMCAs of New Jersey, which would also benefit from the change as students are bused to their programs from schools.
“Any child in New Jersey that’s transported to or from a school must be in a school bus,” explains Kristin Hurdle, the director of state government relations for a national organization that supports local Ys.
“We feel like this bill would keep kids safe while helping in these times,” she said. “We could put the resources elsewhere.”
Montgomery faces school budget challenges
Friday, January 29, 2010 Robert Stern SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
MONTGOMERY -- The township school district will face significant challenges in crafting its 2010-2011 budget, largely because of uncertainties about how much state aid will be received, whether the state will force it to spend some of its savings this year, and the rising cost of employee benefits.
That was the assessment from Montgomery school administrators this week at the first public forum on the budget planning for next year.
The Monday meeting was intended as a brainstorming session to gather ideas and preferences before getting to work in solidifying program objectives and spending. Budget and tax levy figures were not available as many variables, including state actions, have yet to be considered, said Superintendent Earl Kim.
One chief concern is whether $2.3 million in saved cash will be available for use in the 2010-2011 school year. The state has indicated it may want the district to apply a portion or all of the money to spending in the current school year, as there may be a shortfall in anticipated school aid, Kim said.
Kim said the district accumulated the money last year during a spending freeze. Montgomery officials had been hoping they could use the money in 2010-2011.
In planning for next year's budget, school officials said they hope to keep programs intact, preserve the quality of faculty and staff, focus on keeping class sizes in check, and maintain the current level of transportation services.
For now, the district has not proposed cutting staff or programs, although a $10.9 million request for items ranging from more teachers and an elementary school guidance counselor to expansion of co-curricular programs will not be fulfilled next year, officials said.
Administrators said the district already does a good job of keeping expenses in check. But they acknowledge that four areas could be tweaked: co-curricular programs, benefits, operations/maintenance and classroom services.
In the benefits area, the cost of health insurance is of concern, school business administrator Thomas Venanzi said.
For the current school year, benefit costs, including government-mandated costs, account for $13.2 million of the school's spending out of a total budget of about $70 million, Venanzi said. That's the second-biggest cost driver after general education salaries at $31.8 million and ahead of special education salaries and programs at $11.8 million.
There is one major challenge and that is ... the taxpayers' ability to pay and willingness to pay for the education that we provide, said Kim.
Kim said it's difficult for school officials to plan because not enough information or direction is coming from the state, among other factors.
One of the unknowns is what the state's tax levy cap will be next year. In recent years, that had been set at a maximum of 4 percent of the current year tax levy but there has been speculation out of Trenton that the cap may be reduced to 3 percent this year.
Another unknown is the amount of state aid that Montgomery will receive. Already, Montgomery's current level of state aid of $5.5 million is about $10 million short of what Montgomery should be getting based on its enrollment figures, Venanzi said.
A tentative budget is expected to be introduced at the school board's Feb. 9 meeting.
Gov. Chris Christie vetoes funding for over-budget Burlington High School project
By The Star-Ledger Continuous News Desk January 29, 2010, 9:11AM
TRENTON -- Gov. Chris Christie vetoed change orders for an overbudget project for Burlington City High School, calling it an example of spending that will no longer be tolerated, a report in Philly.com said.
Christie vetoed minutes from a meeting of the Schools Development Authority, which approved $1.3 million in change orders for additional work at the school, according to the report. The original bid was $28.7 million, but with the change orders, the project would have cost more than $46.4 million, the report said. The school had been expanded for $55 million, creating 475 jobs, including more classrooms,expansion and renovation of the cafeteria and kitchen, and improvements to sports fields, parking and roadway. But contractors had to add to the project to cap contaminated soil, relocate storm drains and other additional remediation.
