MILLSTONE – Following the sudden reduction of more than $250,000 in state aid being provided to the Millstone Township K-8 School District for 2018-19, the Board of Education has reduced appropriations to account for the aid that has been lost.
Under Gov. Phil Murphy’s initial proposal in March, the school district’s state aid package for the 2018-19 school year was expected to total $4.95 million. Using that number, district administrators crafted a $38.7 million budget for 2018-19 (July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019).
However, the district’s state aid allocation changed following negotiations between Murphy and leaders in the state Legislature resulted in a bill – which was signed into law by the governor on July 24 – which trimmed the district’s state aid to $4.7 million, a decrease of $255,316.
As a result of the decrease, Superintendent of Schools Christopher Huss and Business Administrator Bernard Biesiada presented board members with recommended reductions in district appropriations for 2018-19 totaling $255,316. During a meeting on July 23, the board members approved the reductions.
The reductions include $65,122 in out-of-district special education placement as a result of appropriated out-of-district placements no longer being in Millstone; $20,000 in new textbooks by postponing a language arts pilot program and creating materials internally; $3,000 in transportation replacement parts by extending the useful life of current transportation equipment; $1,000 in superintendent membership dues by reducing superintendent memberships and subscriptions; and $1,000 in school business office travel by reducing the travel office and reimbursement of the business administrator/business office.
In addition, a $55,000 reduction in technology salaries and a $15,000 reduction in technology benefits were realized by not filling a new district technology position at this time.
In custodial appropriations, the largest reductions were $37,380 in custodial salaries by privatizing one night custodian at the Millstone Township Elementary School; $34,900 in custodial benefits by privatizing the one night custodian at the elementary school; $32,040 in custodial salaries by privatizing one night custodian at the Millstone Township Middle School; and $14,450 in custodial benefits by privatizing the one night custodian at the middle school, according to district administrators.
As a result of two district custodians resigning and the district not rehiring until Sept. 1, the following reductions were generated: $6,234 in custodial benefits, $5,834 in custodial salaries, $5,834 in custodial salaries and $1,688 in custodial benefits. Three $1,500 reductions were created by postponing/extending non-mandated and discretionary custodial activities district-wide in each of Millstone’s three schools: middle school custodial supplies, elementary school custodial supplies and Millstone Township Primary School custodial supplies.
Along with the reductions, a $39,833 cost to the district in custodial services was incurred by privatizing the one night custodian at the middle school and another $39,833 cost in custodial services was incurred by privatizing the one night custodian at the elementary school, according to district administrators.
By limiting staff members to a contracted amount of one professional development activity at $300, three $6,000 reductions in purchased professional educational services were created. Reducing the amount set aside for travel/professional development provided for reductions of $750 in child study team travel, $750 in other purchased services, $750 in other purchased services, $750 in other purchased services, $500 in child study team miscellaneous expenses, $500 in other middle school objects, $500 in other elementary school objects, and $500 in other primary school objects.
Finally, three $3,000 reductions in instructional supplies were created by freezing instructional supply accounts.
Administrators recommended against board members appropriating money from the district’s surplus fund (savings) to help cover the decrease in state aid because withdrawals from the surplus fund would need to be reimbursed.
Board President David DePinho commented on the situation and said, “This board and this administration work very hard over a long period of time to put together a budget that helps us achieve the educational mission and the vision we set ourselves out for, one that is set on educational excellence for all of the students here.
“This board also adheres very tightly to the very strict timelines the state sets in order for us to achieve that. It’s dysfunctional, it’s unfair that a month-and-a-half before we are about to set into the school year, we are doing this exercise; $255,000 is a hit to this district.
“We definitely appreciate the efforts of [Biesiada] and Dr. Huss to have as minimal of an impact on the students as possible, but when we look at things like professional development, when we look at things like the technology position, which is an important part of our strategic plan, when we are good with the fact that we have an out-of-district placement that has helped us, that can also change,” DePinho said.
“I just want to state that it’s maddening that this is how this process rolls. We will do what we need to do to make this happen, but it just doesn’t seem right,” he said.
Board member Kevin McGovern said the school board and residents should be prepared for future reductions in the amount of state aid that will be provided to Millstone Township under the terms of the bill Murphy signed into law on July 24.
The law increases the amount of state aid to be provided to some school districts and reduces the amount of state aid to be provided to other school districts.
“As infuriating as it is in the way this played out this year, we would be remiss in not telling the community this is the first step in a multi-year process” of reducing the district’s state aid, McGovern said. “We should not be selling this, either to ourselves or to our community, as a one-year fix.
“This (action taken on July 23) is what we had to do to reconcile our existing budget with the cut that came after the fact. But this is going to be something we have to grapple with going forward for a number of years. We can anticipate that based on what we are seeing this year, there will be subsequent reductions (in state aid) year over year. We should prepare for that and our community should prepare for that as well,” McGovern said.
