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Sayreville School District receives $2 million increase in state aid

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SAYREVILLE – Administrators in the Sayreville School District have determined the allocations for an additional $2.01 million in state aid the district will receive for the 2018-19 school year.

Under Gov. Phil Murphy’s initial proposal in March, Sayreville’s state aid package for 2018-19 was expected to total $23.44 million. Using that number and following the directives of state officials, district administrators crafted a $95 million budget for the 2018-19 school year.

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After negotiations with legislative leaders, Murphy signed a bill into law that changed the allocation of state aid for New Jersey’s schools and increased Sayreville’s state aid for 2018-19 to $25.45 million. The revised state aid figures were announced on July 13.

Following the state’s announcement, the Board of Education approved the acceptance of the revised state aid amount on July 26.

According to Superintendent of Schools Richard Labbe, the additional $2.01 million will be appropriated as follows: $1.07 million for the replacement of the track and the construction of a new bus parking lot and recess area at Samsel Upper Elementary School (SUES); $165,000 for two buses; $127,049 for iPad tablets and Chromebook laptop computers to provide the devices to every pupil in pre-K through fifth grade; $120,000 for architect and engineering services for the track and SUES projects; $100,000 to replace marching band instruments.

And, $92,000 for grades 6-8 math curriculum and instruction resources and Rutgers Behavioral Health services at SUES; $68,000 for a custodian at SUES and a custodian at Sayreville Middle School; $59,000 for two bus drivers; $52,000 for employee benefits; $51,300 for literacy software Achieve 3000 for third grade pupils and to pilot portal software for parents of Sayreville War Memorial High School (SWMHS) students; $50,000 for a campus security monitor at SUES, which also houses Project Before Preschool, and a school safety specialist to oversee school security; $35,000 for metal detectors and vestibules at SUES, the middle school and SWMHS; and $16,500 for school safety software Navigate.

Board President Kevin Ciak said, “Out of the $2 million, $1.4 million (70 percent) is being invested in one-time cost items. So, that means if for some reason this aid were to go away next year or be reduced, we are not saddling the district with recurring costs. It also means that next year, we have the ability to use some of that aid for tax relief.

“In addition to that, with the aid we are getting now that we are putting into our facilities, coupled with the money we have put into capital and maintenance reserves by action of the board, we are pretty confident the referendum we have been talking about for building envelope and security improvements that were needed for our facilities will no longer be necessary,” he said.

“By allocating the money in this way, it means we are not going to have to go out for voter approval, we are not going to saddle this community with long-term debt, we are not going to have to spend money on an election and we will be able to make these improvements a lot quicker than we would if we had to go out for voter approval,” Ciak continued.

“Everything we are allocating these funds to is consistent with our district strategic plan. This isn’t a plan the board itself came up with; a Vision 2030 committee in September consisting of parents, residents, educators [and] even students came up with a plan as to where they wanted to take the district in the next three years. With the infusion of this additional funding, it allows us to fulfill the items in that plan,” he said.

Ciak, Vice President Anthony Esposito and board members Phyllis Batko, Thomas Biesiada, Lucy Bloom Christopher Callahan, Karen Rubio and John Walsh voted “yes” to accept the additional state aid for the appropriation as listed. Board member Daniel Balka voted “no.”

“I am in favor of accepting the additional aid, but was not happy with some of the expenditures they had chosen,” Balka said after the meeting. “From what we were told, 30 percent were recurring expenses. I was upset with the lack of any serious consideration in providing tax relief, I believe someone had mentioned $1.70 per day, but they did not elaborate on that figure.

“Also, we have been told we have thousands of devices, mostly Chromebook computers, that are beyond their end of life and I believe we should have focused more funds on that item as well,” Balka said. “I wish the full board had more of a say in how additional aid was allocated and not just the administration with the finance committee.”

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