Freeholders
weigh tuition for Warren Tech
Proposal would charge municipalities
according to number of students sent.
Thursday, August 26, 2004 • By BILL BRAY •
The Express-Times
WHITE TWP. -- The Warren County freeholders are
considering charging tuition to municipalities that send
students to the Warren County Technical School.
Under the proposal discussed during a
Vocational-Technical Board of School Estimate meeting
Wednesday, the county would charge municipalities $1,600 per
general education student or $2,200 per special education
student annually to attend the four-year school that teaches
trade skills to students who aren't bound for college.
Freeholders said tuition is not being considered as a
new source of revenue but as a way to more equitably divide
the cost of the tech district, which is now funded by the
county's property tax.
This year, 360 students will attend the technical
school. Approximately 30 percent of these students would
fall into the special education category, according to tech
school Superintendent Frank Mancuso. As proposed, the
tuition plan would raise $642,600 in the 2005-06 school year
when 368 students are anticipated to attend the school.
"That cost of education has to be distributed to the
students who are receiving the education," said Freeholder
Everett Chamberlain. If approved, the tuition charge would
come into effect for the 2005-06 school year.
"I don't see it as extreme dollars to come up with,"
Freeholder Director Richard Gardner said.
Mancuso said while half of the state's vo-tech schools
charge tuition, he's against bringing the practice to Warren
County. Mancuso said some districts may decide to encourage
their students to stay in their local schools to avoid
paying tuition.
The plan was also opposed by technical school board
President Brad Bartow and school board member Dave Shotwell.
Bartow and Shotwell and the three freeholders comprise the
board of estimate, which makes the final decisions about the
district's funding.
While the board could have taken action Wednesday, both
the freeholders and the school board members agreed to table
the matter until both could consult their attorneys. Mancuso
said the school board will discuss the issue at its next
meeting Sept. 15.
"Our (school) board would never approve that
resolution," Bartow said.
The board of estimate has until Jan. 15 to make a
decision and notify local municipalities of any tuition
charge for it to take effect in the 2005-06 school
year.
Mancuso said Phillipsburg taxpayers would be the hardest
hit with a tuition bill of over $600,000. This year
Phillipsburg will send 68 full-time students to the
technical school.
Washington would be next with 41 full-time students
attending this year.
Washington Mayor Marianne Van Deursen said she was
totally unaware of the proposal.
"I think that there should be an opportunity for public
discussion before they do that," Van Deursen said.
Washington taxpayers could face a tuition bill as high as
$90,200 if the measure is approved.
All 22 municipalities send students to the technical
school. Allamuchy Township sends the least with one student.
The top 10 sending municipalities are Phillipsburg,
Washington, Oxford Township with 30 students, Lopatcong
Township with 29, Mansfield Township with 25, Alpha with 24,
White and Washington townships with 17 each, Harmony
Township with 16 and Franklin and Greenwich townships with
12 full-time students each.
In 2002, local officials strongly opposed a similar
proposal by Gov. James E. McGreevey that called for rural
municipalities patrolled by the state police to pay for some
of the cost. At the time the governor said these communities
should shoulder some of the burden for the services they
use.
Assemblyman Michael Doherty, who was then a freeholder,
described the proposal as "quasi-socialist."
The proposal to charge tuition for technical students
could become an issue in the fall campaign for
freeholder.
Former Freeholder Director Ann Stone, who will face
Freeholder John DiMaio, spoke out against the plan
Wednesday.
"This would be a devastating thing," Stone said. She
said the school worked hard to increase its enrollment and
charging tuition would be a step backward.
"This seems to be fairer," DiMaio said. He added that it
is just a proposal the freeholders are looking into. DiMaio
said he also supports a 1.5 percent increase in the county's
funding of the technical school.
Reporter Bill Bray can be reached at 908-475-1596 or by
e-mail at wbray@express-times.com.
Copyright 2004
The Express-Times. Used with permission.
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