Finalized budget in Great Meadows Regional School District still includes teacher cuts, tax increase

Tuesday, March 30, 2010
By STEPHEN J. NOVAK
The Express-Times

The $18.8 million budget that will appear before voters next month in the Great Meadows Regional School District includes both staff cuts and a tax increase.

The proposal eliminates the district curriculum coordinator, seven full-time and one part-time teacher positions, 10 non-special-education teacher aides and one custodian, district Superintendent Tim Frederiks said. The elementary-level guidance department would be restructured.

The budget also incorporates a new state law that all employees contribute 1.5 percent of their salary to health care. The law applies to unionized employees, including teachers, after their contract expires.

Taxes are set to rise 10 cents over Liberty Township's rate of $1.64 per $100 of assessment, a 5.9 percent increase. Independence Township will pay an additional 8 cents over its $1.08 per $100 of assessment tax rate, a 7.5 percent increase.

The Warren County Department of Education limited Great Meadows' to increasing tax revenue by $300,000 above the state's 4 percent cap. District officials had proposed exceeding the cap by more than $600,000 to save some employees' positions.

"It's been a tough go here," Frederiks said of drafting the budget.

When the spending plan was introduced March 18, the superintendent told the board there was a $1.8 million hole in the budget due to various factors, including a reduction of about $950,000 in state aid.

Voters will decide whether to approve the budget during the April 20 school elections.

The district's budgets have not fared well with the electorate in the past. At least the last two budgets were defeated.

If a budget fails, the district's township governments would meet to decide what, if any, cuts to make.

Frederiks said he plans on discussing the budget with parent groups in each township as well as at upcoming township committee meetings. The township committees will also be provided copies of the publicly available budget before the election, he said.

"We're going to try to get the word out so everyone can understand," Frederiks said. "We've created a budget that is 1 million less than last year and that hurts enough."