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‘N.J. judge refuses to block bill changing benefits, pensions for public workers’
‘N.J. towns make school budget cuts in wake of election defeats’
‘N.J. judge refuses to block bill changing benefits, pensions for public workers’
By Chris Megerian/Statehouse Bureau May 20, 2010, 2:15PM
TRENTON — A state judge refused today to block reductions in pension and health care benefits for police and firefighters.
The unions argued that the changes improperly infringe upon the collective bargaining process. They also said the requirement to contribute 1.5 percent of their salary to health care constitutes a tax on public employees.
But Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg rejected the unions' arguments.
"I don't think it's a tax," she said. "It's a medical contribution."
Although their motion to block the changes failed, union lawyers said they will continue to push their lawsuit in an effort to prove the legislation is unconstitutional.
"This is just a skirmish in the battle," said attorney Paul Kleinbaum, who represented the police union.
‘N.J. towns make school budget cuts in wake of election defeats’
By Star-Ledger Staff May 20, 2010, 5:16 am
The Woodbridge School District will have to cut $1 million from its proposed $182 million budget after township voters defeated the spending plan by 1,600 votes.
South Plainfield was told to slice $1.25 million from its $40.6 million school budget. But the Mine Hill School District’s $8 million budget will be left intact.
• Q&A: When school budgets fail
School budgets in 316 districts across the state were defeated by voters last month, giving municipal officials the job of making final cuts.
A few spending plans emerged unscathed after officials spent weeks scouring line items, sometimes meeting on weekends. Wednesday was the deadline to act, but some pushed it to the end — even meeting last night.
A Star-Ledger analysis of 110 of the 316 districts with defeated budgets shows 102 districts were told to make further cuts. The median cut was 1.4 percent; the total dollar amount cut was $62.9 million.
"We wanted to be sure the education is thorough and efficient," Woodbridge Council President James Major said. "On the other hand, the voters spoke loud and clear."
Previous coverage:
• Thousands of N.J. teachers get layoff notices as school budget deadlines loom
• N.J. town, school officials vent about budget cuts, property tax hikes
• N.J. students wage mass walkouts in response to Gov. Chris Christie's school cuts
• N.J. education chief warns legislators of voter wrath after school budget defeats
• N.J. voters send message of discontent by shooting down school budgets
• Gov. Chris Christie says N.J. school budget defeats should serve as 'wake up call'
School districts got a strong dose of financial pain this spring, when Gov. Chris Christie slashed state aid by $820 million — meaning hundreds of districts lost most or all of their state aid. Voters then shot down more than 58 percent of the school budgets, the highest failure rate ever.
Bruce Baker, an associate professor at the Rutgers Graduate School of Education, said the reductions made after last month’s defeats don’t necessarily mean deeper cuts to school finances now.
"What they’re getting cut is their proposed local increase, and most of them did propose increases to counterbalance the state aid cuts," he said.
But, he said, property taxes will go up in many districts — somewhat less where budget defeats led to further cuts — and many schools will reduce staffing, programs or services next year.
"It’s pretty gruesome," Somerset County Executive School Superintendent Trudy Doyle said. "This is probably one of the most challenging years anyone has ever faced."
In Woodbridge, where township officials said they tried to balance the needs of schools with the will of voters, Superintendent John Crowe said reductions will come from savings from staff retirements. "It’s not painless ... but certainly very reasonable," he said.
Woodbridge had already cut 280 jobs, including 130 teachers, supervisors or administrators, before last month’s vote.
Tiny Mine Hill, in Morris County, was one of only a handful of districts where the budget was left intact. Interim Superintendent Ernest Palestis said one factor was that teachers there contribute to their health insurance costs.
"Cutting a nickel would have been detrimental to the school system," Councilman Conrad Pepperman said.
In some towns, municipal officials recommended teachers agree to wage freezes. Some are considering asking parents to pay more, through activity fees.
Some communities still haven’t settled the question of cuts. Montgomery Township, a merged district serving two towns, will have to go to the Somerset County superintendent after Rocky Hill’s council voted to cut $1.9 million. The Montgomery Township Committee split, and did not approve cuts.
In many places, the margin of defeat for budgets was razor-thin.
Some 29 percent of all school budgets — 155 out of 539 that went before voters — passed or failed by less than 3 percent, according to the Star-Ledger analysis. In some towns, even one vote made the difference.
In Warren Township, more than 2,900 people voted, and the budget lost by 45.
"If 23 people had voted yes, we’d be out of this mess," Superintendent James Crisfield said.
By Jeanette Rundquist and Kristen Alloway/Star-Ledger Staff
