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2006-2007 School Budget Outcome
In a special joint meeting of the Readington School Board and the Readington Township Council, the outcome of school budget was decided for the 2006-2007 school year. The differences between these two bodies in demeanor and process could not be more stark from last year. The school board, for its part, took a "zero-based" approach to the budget this year and took pains to make the process transparent and open to the public. The process also started earlier. Add to this the efforts of Interim Superintendent Jim Sheerin pushing and pulling along the way, and the resulting budget put forth by the district was as lean and mean as can be accomplished under our public education system. Yet, the voters who went to the polls rejected the budget. The Readington Township Committee, distracted by other issues and faced with turmoil in the township, might have been expected to drop the ball on the district budget. Instead, a liaison was selected by the committee to meet with the school board and that person--Tom Auriemma--made the time to focus on this issue. In the words of school board president Mark Berry, the township committee "took the time to learn about the budget" and those conversations "have ignited a discussion about shared services" between the township and the school district so that taxpayers will save money. The demeanor of members of both entities was cordial, professional and businesslike. In short, 180 degrees from the previous year. Those discussions about shared services led to one immediate idea about sharing the cost of snow removal. That idea, combined with other incidental items such as putting off certain equipment purchases, allowed the township committee to recommend cuts in the order of $45K to the district budget. Tom Auriemma noted that the school district had put forth "a fair budget" and that he was "happy with their work." In his personal opinion, the budget was already efficient and further cuts "would cut into the core curriculum." The rest of the township committee apparently agreed, and voted unanimously on the resolution cutting a token $45K amount. Like many other municipal governments in NJ, the Readington Township Committee made the only conscionable decision it could make--a small cut to recognize the outcome of the vote and to recognize that the vote did not really make sense within the funding confines of our public education system. With this decision behind us, the Readington school board can now concentrate on finding a new, permanent superintendent and other administrators who will be capable of leading us out of the doldrums and into a more productive sea. |
