Madison Public Schools Face a 'Tough Year' of Making Do with Less

Doing more with less will be the watchword for Madison's public schools in 2011-12. 

At a special meeting held at Thursday night, Business Administrator Gary Lane reiterated the difficult budget issues that have been discussed in detail over the past several months. It was the final budget presentation before school elections April 27.

"After reviewing anticipated revenues, the district's budget is $1.3 million out of balance. We have more expenses than revenue. Since a balanced budget is mandated by law," he said, "the budget had to be cut by approximately $900,000."

The nearly $34.7 million spending plan calls for cuts in a variety of areas.

Madison High will lose a secretary and an English teacher. Several assistant coach positions will be eliminated, and several extracurricular activities—among them, the Diversity Council, the school musical and the Red Cross Club—will lose faculty advisers. 

In the junior school, music programs will be reconfigured to cover the loss of a teacher, and the guidance counselor will now spend part of each week at the elementary school.

Meanwhile, the elementary schools will lose two teachers, its fourth- and fifth-grade Spanish classes, and the fourth-grade instrumental music program.

Additionally, there will be district-wide cuts, including the loss of two special needs teacher positions and three custodian jobs. At the same time, Lane noted that class size guidelines—established by the district—will be maintained, particularly at the elementary school level. Most programs will remain intact.

Support services for technology, an area deemed crucial within schools, will increase slightly. A part-time coordinator of visual and performing arts will stay, and the commitment to student achievement, curriculum and instructional programs will continue.

"We will have to do more with less," Lane said. "We must be more creative and more understanding of the restrictions as we adjust to this new reality."

The board administrator said he hopes to meet with employee unions to figure out ways to avoid staff cuts and outsourcing of maintenance and secretarial duties.

Lane said a big part of the need to cut came from the fact that New Jersey mandates that schools use revenue-based budgeting.

"If a revenue source decreases from a prior year and the district can't make up the loss, programs must be cut," he explained. 

Lane also blamed the need for cuts on the lack of a rainy day fund, the ending of a federal program that netted American Recovery Act funds, and diminished state aid. The state of New Jersey is giving Madision Schools just under $350,000 in aid for 2011-12, which is down from the $1.3 million received only two years ago but up from zero aid in 2010-11.

Revenue is expected to come from an increase in the high school activity fee from $100 to $150 per family (Lane says provisions will be made for families who cannot afford the hike) and by raising the tax levy by 1.75 percent. The property tax increase will mean the average homeowner will have to pay about $9.84 more per month, or $118.12 for the year. The rise in the tax levy remains beneath the 2 percent cap mandated by state law.

Overall, the budget will decrease 0.07 percent from the previous year. Madison citizens will have an opportunity to pass or reject the budget at school elections on April 27. If voters choose not to support the spending plan, it then goes to the mayor and the Borough Council for review. The council will then send its recommendations to the Board of Elections. If the BOE is dissatisfied with the council's decision, it can file an appeal.

Borough voters rejected the budget in 2010, the first such defeat in 15 years.

In terms of dollars and cents, Lane warns the district could face even more loss and belt-tightening if the budget is defeated at the polls.

An election defeat could mean more teachers are put out of work, which would increase class sizes. The part-time Visual and Performing Arts coordinator could be lost, as could the fifth-grade band and orchestra. Certain sports and extracurricular programs could be adversely affected, and the activity fee could see another hike.

New schools superintendent Dr. Michael Rossi stated his case bluntly."We need to get the budget passed," he said. 

Rossi, who is currently wrapping up his duties as superintendent for the Roxbury district, takes over his new post July 1.

Rossi worked to reassure the audience. "Yes, we may lose two special needs teachers, but our special needs students will be taken care of to the best of our ability," he said. "In terms of the music cuts, we are trying to reconfigure what we do so that we can do more with less."