White
Twp. schools agree to cut costs
Board unsure where to make
reductions.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005 • By SARA LEITCH • The
Express-Times
WHITE TWP. -- School board members voted
Monday to cut $29,000 from the school budget, as directed by
the township committee, but did not decide where those cuts
would hit the $7.3 million budget.
"The board agreed with their total amount
but is not bound by individual line item cuts," school board
Chairman Gary Meddaugh said.
The township committee decided Thursday
to cut the proposed school budget for the 2005-2006 school
year after voters rejected it in April by a vote of 293-389.
The proposed budget called for a tax levy of $5,394,445,
$228,000 more than was budgeted for the current school
year.
The amount the committee decided to cut
was smaller than it could have been, chief school
Administrator Anthony Amato said. He called the decision a
good compromise but said the cuts will still have an effect
on students next year and beyond.
"Any time you take money out of the
budget it's going to have an impact on education," Amato
said.
The cuts mean the school's budget is not
as large as state caps allow, he said, so the total amount
allowed in the next year's budget will be smaller than it
would have been.
School and municipal officials agreed
there wasn't much room to trim the proposed budget. The
township paid municipal auditor David Evans to go over the
proposed budget and suggest cuts after voters rejected
it.
"His overall impression was that it was a
good budget," Committeeman James Ashe said. "He said a
strong argument could be made for leaving it the way it
was."
Evans found room for cuts in funding for
field trips, food service and at-home schooling for students
who are temporarily unable to attend class. He also
suggested cuts in the school's reserve fund and in medical
insurance payments.
After discussion with school board
members, the committee voted to recommend $29,000 in cuts.
They suggested cutting $4,000 from at-home schooling,
$15,000 from food service and $10,000 from the school's
surplus.
The food service cuts were possible
because it had a surplus of $53,000, Ashe said. The account
has run a deficit in the past, he said.
"We don't want to deplete it too much,
but we certainly felt there was $15,000 that could be used,"
Ashe said. "Even the auditor said 'I wouldn't do that every
year,' but we can get away with it this year."
In addition to making the cuts,
committeemen pledged financial assistance if the school
found its surplus account or home education fund running
low.
"We're recognizing it leaves them in a
perilous situation, and we're going to make sure they're
covered," Ashe said.
The committee didn't want to cut the
budget but felt it had to make an effort, Ashe said. Voters
who voted against the budget in 2004 were irritated when the
committee seemingly ignored their wishes and approved the
budget without any cuts.
"I would prefer that we didn't have to
make any cuts," Ashe said. "I'm happy we found something.
I'm glad we're able to do something to satisfy the
voters."
Meddaugh said he understood why
committeemen felt compelled to cut but said this year's
budget was even leaner than the previous one.
"They tried to be fair to the voters who
rejected the budget and the children of the school district
who are affected by that budget," he said. "It was a
difficult circumstance, and both sides tried to serve all
the masters we have to serve."
Reporter Sara Leitch can be reached at 908-475-8044 or by
e-mail at sleitch@express-times.com.
© 2005 The Express-Times. Used with
permission.
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