P'burg
schools get some cash
Trenton bumps up contribution,
saving staff, district says.
Thursday, June 16, 2005 • By LINDA LISANTI •
The Express-Times
PHILLIPSBURG -- No existing staff or
programs will have to be sacrificed next school year now
that the district has learned it will receive more funding
from the state.
Business Administrator Bill Poch said the
district have been told by the Department of Education that
Phillipsburg will get another roughly $1.7 million in aid
for the 2005-06 school year -- $1.42 million to compensate
for 3.01 percent inflation and $257,108 for new facility
costs.
The district had originally requested
$3,687,000 in discretionary funding to balance the $60.4
million adopted spending plan.
Discretionary aid is money awarded to New
Jersey's 31 poorest districts known as Abbott districts.
Phillipsburg is one of them.
Had Phillipsburg received no additional
aid, the district stood to lose 26 positions.
Though district officials were hoping for
more, Poch said they have decided to accept the amount
offered. The district could have appealed to the
state.
"In talks with our attorneys, they felt
that this was the best we could expect to get," he
said.
School board President Rod Pianelli said
that as the state's fiscal situation has deteriorated over
the years, it's become more difficult for Abbott districts
to get supplemental funding.
"It's a situation where we see the
handwriting on the wall," Pianelli said
Wednesday.
Phillipsburg rarely settles with the
state when it comes to money, but he said it will use less
money and less effort this way, while also being able to
sufficiently run the district.
"Rather than dig our heels in and fight
it's less disruptive for the district to just move forward,"
Pianelli said.
The school board Monday night adopted an
amended $58.4 million budget that includes the additional
state aid, as well as roughly $2 million in cuts to make up
for the shortfall.
According to Poch, several new positions
were scratched, including two elementary classroom managers,
a custodian for the Early Childhood Center and a technical
support person.
The district's fiscal specialist will
remain part time. The original budget had called for the
position to be upgraded to full time.
Instructional supplies were also reduced
from $275 to $250 per pupil, Poch said.
Reporter Linda Lisanti can be reached at 610-258-7171 or
by e-mail at llisanti@express-times.com.
© 2005 The Express-Times. Used with
permission.
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