N.J. school districts grapple with voter-rejected budgets

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Faced with a state deadline, South Jersey school districts whose budgets were rejected by voters are for the most part trying to figure how to make do with less.

By Friday, the 25 local districts - more than a quarter of local school districts - whose proposed property-tax levies were rebuffed by voters last month are required to advise their county education superintendents how they are amending their budgets because of reduced levies approved by their local municipal governing boards.

Before the holiday weekend, Moorestown schools officials were still looking at how to handle the approximately $545,000 cut the Township Council approved last week to decrease the $53 million tax levy that voters turned down. The budget defeat was not a common occurrence in school-proud Moorestown.

The council recommended cutting the budgets for supplies, administrative salaries, and health benefits.

John Button was one of the township councilmen who met with district officials on the levy cut.

"The township is sending us a message they wanted us to do something," said Button, who campaigned on tax relief. Still, he said, "it was very, very hard to find where to make those cuts."

Schools Superintendent John Bach said the district was looking for cuts that would least affect education.

"We're disappointed in the results of the election, but we understand it's our obligation to honor the process," Bach said.

By last Tuesday, municipal governing boards were supposed to have reported amended school tax levies to county tax officials. Those that reduced levies made suggestions about what budget lines districts should cut. The districts have to abide by the levy limits, but they can submit their own cutbacks.

Districts can opt to appeal lowered levies to the state, but few do under recent school-funding laws.

In Washington Township, the Township Council trimmed $300,335 from the $69.1 million levy the voters defeated. Mary Breslin, township business administrator, said three positions - a human resources manager and two computer lab technicians - would not be filled. There are also cuts to some student activities positions. District spokeswoman Jan Giel said schools officials had approved those economies.

In Winslow Township, residents and district employees were up in arms over 160 staff cuts made even before voters turned down the budget.

Steve Dringus, township chief financial officer, said an additional $519,000 in cuts had been proposed, but with no additional staff cuts. Most of the savings, he said, would come from renting computer equipment instead of buying it.

In several cases, levies were defeated by a relatively small number of votes, and not necessarily because large increases were sought.

"We had put a budget out that was already reducing taxes in all three towns," said business administrator John Oberg of the Black Horse Pike Regional School District, which serves secondary students from Bellmawr, Gloucester Township, and Runnemede.

The three towns approved a $100,000 levy cut, which the school board will honor, he said. He attributed the voters' actions to the times.

"I just think it's a reflection of the economy," Oberg said.

In Willingboro, where voters have a history of defeating school budgets, the proposed levy failed even though it was flat with the current year's, according to School Superintendent Thomas C. McMahon.

The district had hoped to fund additional staff development. Instead, McMahon said last week, the district was looking for ways to incorporate a $1.6 million levy reduction called for by the township board.

In at least one case locally, municipal officials upheld a defeated levy - a little more than $2 million for the one-school Woodbury Heights district, according to district business administrator Bruce Finkle. The district, which had appealed for a waiver from the state's 4 percent tax increase cap, had a tight budget and little surplus funds, Finkle said.

More often, however, the decision was to cut, as in Evesham, where a failed $52 million tax levy resulted in $1.2 million in budget trims.