BOE Unanimously Approves Budget with 2 Questions

The Board of Education approved the 2013-14 school budget with two extra questions by a unanimous vote of 7-0 Thursday evening.

The vote came after two contrasting comments from Gordon Brown and Nabil Mouline. Brown spoke first, saying his last child left the district in 1988 when his taxes were $3,862 per year. Now, he said, he and his wife pay $8,134 per year.

"In between, we have paid $124,717 into the school system, and no one has been in school from our family," Brown said. "I call this legalized extortion, paying a lot of money and getting very little back for it."

Brown criticized the Mandarin program at Chatham Middle School and Chatham High School, and recommended those who want to learn Mandarin purchase a Rosetta Stone program or go to a private tutor.

"We are a public school system, we are not private, we are not a university, we're not a college," Brown said. "I'm just sick and tired of paying for other people's wants and so-called needs."

In a reference to the additional questions in the budget, Brown also he thought it was "a sad state of affairs" that the district could not count on the borough, township, county or state law enforcement to provide security for the school. "I would not like to see a lot of money being spent on something that is totally unnecessary," he said.

Brown also said when he went to school there was one counselor in the school system, and now he counts 15 throughout the district including secretaries, student assistance counselors and full counselors. "We've got 15, why do we need three more?" he asked. "A lot of money for I don't know what."

Mouline, however, said he knew of many parents who would rather see more added to the base budget.

"I don't think we are adding a lot compared to what we had last year," Mouline, of Education Counts, said.

Mouline said he understands the board wants to be considerate of economic difficulties, but that any taxes paid into the school system sustains and grows property value.

"What we've seen so far (in the budget) is pretty frugal," Mouline, of Education Counts, said. "Many of us would have hoped for more."

Board of Education President Tom Belding and Superintendent Michael LaSusa defended the budget as drafted. Belding said despite the increases in taxes, the rate of increase "in costs per student in Chatham is below the rate of inflation. ... We pay more for everything now than we did in the 1980s, and I sure hope your house is worth at least twice of what it was in 1980 as well," he said.

LaSusa said student enrollment is now at 4,100 students in the district. "In 1988, it was less than half that," he said.

He also pointed out that as state aid has diminished in the Chathams, that gap has been paid by the taxpayers. "We all have our grievances to air about our lack of funding from the state," he said.

The Budget

As approved by the board, the total school budget is $65,131,111, with a total of $55,409,234, or $85, to be raised by the local tax levy. This does not include the $3,000,000 to be withdrawn from the capital reserve, which is paid into by tax dollars.

The tax levy increase will be 2.6 percent out of a maximum allowable 4.13 percent. The district has exceptions from the two percent tax levy cap due to growing school enrollment and increases in the cost of health care for its employees, plus banked cap from the last two year.

A 2.6 percent increase in the tax levy means an additional $1,404,134 will be raised in local taxes over the 2012-13 amount. Another $827,475 will go into the banked cap fund for potential use over the next three years.

The public will have the chance to vote on the budget and two additional questions, one for enhanced counseling staff and one for enhanced safety and security, on April 16.

The first question, to Enhance Counseling Staff, will cost $240,000, or an additional 0.44 percent, to the tax levy. It will add two full time counselors, one at Chatham High School and one at the elementary school level. Currently Washington Avenue School and Milton Avenue School share a counselor. The question will also include a student assistant counselor at Chatham Middle School.

The second question to enhance school security and safety will cost $225,000, or an additional 0.42 percent to the tax levy. It will include building monitors at every school in the district and a director of security.

The budget also calls for funds to be withdrawn from the capital reserve for repaving the front circle driveway at Chatham High School, repaving the driveway entrance and additional parking lot at Washington Avenue School, carpet removal and tile replacement at Milton Avenue School and additional classrooms at Chatham High.