Coming Schools Budget Cuts to be 'Deep and Painful'

Madison educators are in the process of submitting budget cuts as part of 2011 school district budget planning, a process that's expected to get worse before it gets better.

Administrators were asked to submit their budget cuts this week. The cuts come in the face of a state-mandated 2 percent cap on municipal property tax increases.

"We are still working on the budget and will be waiting until after we get our state [aid] numbers on Feb. 24 to put all that information out," said Lisa Ellis, president of the Board of Education.

The Board of Education is scheduled to meet Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., at the Alice Perlaw Library Media Center at Madison High School.

Ellis confirmed in an e-mail that administrators were asked to submit a list of prioritized budget cuts early this week. The cuts will then be discussed at an administrative council later this week, and then move to the board's finance committee next week—the same week Madison receives municipal aid numbers from Trenton.

"The finance committee is meeting on Feb. 28 to go over all the information and pull it all together," Ellis wrote.

She said budget planning is still preliminary and nothing has been finalized but, "The cuts are going to be deep and painful."

One administrator who asked not to be identified,  glumly said nothing was sacrosanct in the process, and that he was considering cuts to classes, staff and more. "I might have to drop an entire program," he said.

On Feb. 22, Gov. Chris Christie will give his budget address and two days later all school districts get state aid figures from Trenton, Ellis wrote.