UPDATE: District Cutting $1.3M From Madison Schools Budget

The Madison school district is facing a shortfall of $1.3 million for the 2011-12 budget year, just weeks away from the deadline for administrators to submit a balanced budget to Morris County.

At the meeting Tuesday night at , district business administrator Gary Lane offered major line-item details of the budget’s revenue and expenses—all under the shadow of the state's mandated 2 percent property tax levy cap.

On the revenue side, surplus carryover of $486,000 from 2009-10 had been applied to funds for the 2010-11 budget and, since surplus is limited by the state to a maximum 2 percent of the approximately $34 million total schools budget, "we are in the hole by $486,000,” Lane said. “In the past, I could go to the taxpayers, present my case, and ask them to make it up. Now, with the hard [tax] cap, I have no way to recoup it.”

Add tax levy at the maximum 2 percent increase allowed of $637,791, the difference in tuition from Harding Toqwnship of $1,545,782, up from  $1,497,125 this year, and subtract $90,000 in miscellaneous non-recurring revenue, and the “new money” for the coming budget year totals just $78,000, according to Lane.

Selected costs and expenses:

• Funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and other federal jobs monies (for salaries only) not available in 2011-12: $366,000
• Adjusted health benefits cost: $171,000
• Staff salaries increase: $540,000
• Special needs students: $240,000
• Total: $1.317 million 

Lane noted that the budget comprises thousands of line items, and while some may rise and some may decline, his estimates don’t include some higher costs such as the 20 percent increase in water rates recently approved by the borough council.

“We are going to do things we don’t have a choice in doing,” Lane said. “We’re trying to do the best we can with what we have, but we will continue to move forward.”

Lane said that the district finance committee is already looking at a draft of the budget, plans to make presentations to school PTOs, and hold two public forums to discuss the budget.

The district must submit a tentative balanced budget by March 4 to Morris County, which in turn submits it to the state.

In other news, Ellis said the board is not yet ready to make a formal announcement regarding the hiring of a new superintendent.