Council Reduces School Budget by $255,000

The Borough Council, acting as the Board of School Estimate, on Tuesday night passed a resolution cutting $255,000 from the defeated school budget.

The council also recommended specific itemized adjustments at its joint meeting at the regular Board of Education meeting at Madison High School.

The total budget was reduced from $32,144,528 to $31,889,528. The reduction, according to Madison Public Schools Business Administrator Charles Milewski, would save the owner of the average house in Madison–assessed at $411,000–$59 in property tax increase. The current average raise would be $225, down from $284.

The budget cut actually comes directly from a wage freeze that all four school unions and non-represented employees have agreed to.

"All unions have agreed to a salary freeze, which was not reflected in the budget," Mayor Mary-Anna Holden said. "The recommendation is to remove the amount budgeted for salary increases and to reinstate the valuable elementary school world language program."

That program was originally a reduction in the budget defeated by 22 votes on April 20.

The money taken out for salary increases, with the reinstatement of the elementary world language program added back in, amounted to $315,000. The council also recommended the BOE relocate its office from its current location at 359 Woodland Rd. to the Hartley Dodge Memorial. That relocation cost was listed as $60,000.

The combination of line items listed equaled the $255,000 the council resolution called for reducing in the budget.

Holden also said a recommendation has been made for the expansion of shared services between the borough and the board, including moving Playwrights Theatre and the Adult School from Green Village Road School, to the lower level of the Civic Center. The move would help facilitate the expected sale of the property. Also recommended is looking into expanding the Madison Recreation Department sports programs to fill the void of the Madison Junior School program, which was eliminated when a second budget question failed.

Board of Education President Lisa Ellis thanked the council for what she called a "remarkably positive" process. She also called the time leading up to the budget when the state eliminated Madison's funding "ugly." (Ellis' full statement can be read in this Letter to the Editor.)

Councilman Don Links agreed with Ellis when it came to the defeated budget process over the past few weeks.

"The council and the Board of Education have worked extremely well together," Links said.

Later on in the evening, after the council and majority of the public had left, Denice Katz came to the podium and asked, in light of what has transpired with the budget, if the Board of Education would still commit to giving $1 million to the borough for fields to develop on the 49 acres the borough has purchased from Florham Park.

Superintendent Dr. Richard Noonan said that money would come from the expected sale of Green Village Road School.

"We really need to put it toward the redevelopment of an asset," Noonan said. "We think it would still be the best use of a million of that. It is partially our property and partially the borough's."

Noonan also told Katz the district was currently not leaning toward selling the current board office when it moves to the Hartley Dodge Memorial, as he and Ellis said it would be better served to ease parking for Torey J. Sabatini Elementary School, which sits behind the property.

With the new budget figure handed down by the council, the board now has the right to either make the suggested adjustments or reallocate funds another way to meet the new budget figure.

Noonan said the board's finance committee would meet with the administration, and the committee would take the lead on what adjustments would need to be made.

He said he expected there would be more to report on what is in and out of the final approved budget at the June 8 board meeting.

A video package of comments made at the meeting is attached to this story.