Author	Message
Guest	Posted: Mon, Dec 6 2010, 9:00 am EST    Post subject: Re: CRANBURY: School Board to ask public for help on budget I agree. I would love to find ways to suggest areas for trimming and would need time to look over the options.
Guest	Posted: Mon, Dec 6 2010, 8:11 am EST    Post subject: Re: CRANBURY: School Board to ask public for help on budget Guest wrote: As for what we can do with the very limited amount of the budget we actually have local control over, I think it would be impossible to responsibly say without being on the school board already until the meeting where we can hopefully see the full line-item proposed budget and ask questions like those raised here with the difference being that we can get definitive responses instead of speculation. Perhaps someone from the board will share the line-item spreadsheet in advance of the meeting so our responses can be less "speculative".
Guest	Posted: Fri, Nov 26 2010, 1:29 pm EST    Post subject: Re: CRANBURY: School Board to ask public for help on budget Guest wrote: The township has a surplus. Maybe they can help close the anticipated school budget gap. Two separate taxes- school and town. Plus, the Twp has the 2% cap, affordable housing, the Dam/Spillway repairs on Main St. Since the TC has been using the surplus to artificially keep our tax rate flat (tax revenue has not met the expenses) we could be in for a rude awakening if the surplus disappears- whether it's cuts in services or increases in taxes. We lost a substantial amount last year in town funding from the state and if the school is an indication we'll lose all our funding this year. We better hope that Trenton (both parties) come together and reduce or start funding our mandates. I'd even support our town suing the state for relief.
Guest	Posted: Fri, Nov 26 2010, 9:23 am EST    Post subject: Re: CRANBURY: School Board to ask public for help on budget The township has a surplus. Maybe they can help close the anticipated school budget gap.
Guest	Posted: Fri, Nov 26 2010, 9:17 am EST    Post subject: Re: CRANBURY: School Board to ask public for help on budget Quote: Down to last year, but isn't the library budget still up roughly 50% vs. before the 2006 re-assessment? The library appropriation in 2006 (numbres based upon pre-reassement numbers) was $420,134. 2011 is $572,604.00. This is nowhere near 50% increase. We have to remember that the library pays all salaries, "state mandates" like pension for its employees, as well as programs, books, database, dvds, and cds out of this budget. Costs increased dramatically too including the rent they now pay.
Guest	Posted: Thu, Nov 25 2010, 9:17 am EST    Post subject: Re: CRANBURY: School Board to ask public for help on budget It's time to succeed from the union Guest wrote: Guest wrote: ...Some interesting points and ideas. Can you get all that done by April? Nope, not a one. This is what our elected officials would do if they actually had integrity or interest in representing their constituents, if they really meant they wanted to reduce taxes instead of just spouting sound bites to help their public profile. As for what we can do with the very limited amount of the budget we actually have local control over, I think it would be impossible to responsibly say without being on the school board already until the meeting where we can hopefully see the full line-item proposed budget and ask questions like those raised here with the difference being that we can get definitive responses instead of speculation.
Guest	Posted: Thu, Nov 25 2010, 9:10 am EST    Post subject: Re: CRANBURY: School Board to ask public for help on budget Guest wrote: ...Some interesting points and ideas. Can you get all that done by April? Nope, not a one. This is what our elected officials would do if they actually had integrity or interest in representing their constituents, if they really meant they wanted to reduce taxes instead of just spouting sound bites to help their public profile. As for what we can do with the very limited amount of the budget we actually have local control over, I think it would be impossible to responsibly say without being on the school board already until the meeting where we can hopefully see the full line-item proposed budget and ask questions like those raised here with the difference being that we can get definitive responses instead of speculation.
Guest	Posted: Thu, Nov 25 2010, 4:18 am EST    Post subject: Re: CRANBURY: School Board to ask public for help on budget ...Some interesting points and ideas. Can you get all that done by April?
Guest	Posted: Thu, Nov 25 2010, 12:25 am EST    Post subject: Re: CRANBURY: School Board to ask public for help on budget Guest wrote: Any more ideas? Yes. Reduce state mandates. I don't think the Governor or the Legislature should be able to impose state mandates without directing the pool of local taxes they collect appropriately toward them. Or alternatively at the very least they should not cap local taxes without limiting these mandates. Or how about if they want to reduce taxes directly reduce the revenue they demand from local property taxes? Don't cap increases regardless of loss in local tax revenue and still demand a cut. Since the state is not giving anything back anyway, the fairest thing to do is to take less from us. It is hypocritical, coming from any politician, to tell local municipalities to "sharpen their pencils" then do nothing to offset local tax revenue that is diverted to the state. Third, if either the Governor or Legislature had any integrity they would revise their tax cap rules to not apply to any municipalities that receive no aid from the state or make the cap scale inversely proportionate to state aid levels. Fourth, the state should cut virtually every expense it incurs. If they are not going to spend money on the things we really need like transportation to our jobs to earn the money, they shouldn't be paying themselves a dime in salary, they shouldn't have any discretionary programs, etc. For that matter they should use the next collectively bargaining opportunity for every category of public worker to phase out pension plans entirely and revise health plans to make workers share more in the cost. Most taxpayers don't get pensions and share in health care costs so why should public workers have a different status than the average worker? And eliminate corrupt NJ practices like allowing public workers to have more than one job with multiple pensions and to collect pensions based on peek overtime income. That's just a start. BTW, the idea that you can’t mention the Governor is silly. It’s a matter of public record that it was his idea to lower to cap to 2% and that he has not done anything to reduce state mandates. I am happy to call out the often corrupt and largely ineffectual state legislature too on their many issues, and the former pathetic Governor. Etc. But to have to avoid associating any action with the appropriate corresponding leader or politician is silly.
Guest	Posted: Wed, Nov 24 2010, 10:33 pm EST    Post subject: Re: CRANBURY: School Board to ask public for help on budget I'm saying when you specifically call out the Governor, you compell others to cite our legislators and before you know it, we have a thread focused on party politics instead of solutions. Budgeted revenue is expected to go down (assessed land value). Costs are expected to rise (largely salaries and benefits, many of which are state mandated costs). To reconcile the budget, we need to raise taxes, cut costs or some combination of both. Any more ideas?
Guest	Posted: Wed, Nov 24 2010, 6:50 pm EST    Post subject: Re: CRANBURY: School Board to ask public for help on budget Guest wrote: Let's leave the party politics out of this thread. Suffice it to say, we've been getting screwed by the state for decades. I am the previous poster to you and I was by no means bringing "party politics" into the discussion. I am a member of the same party as the current Governor. Are you saying someone can't state facts without being "political"? I think that is far too sensitive and PC.
Guest	Posted: Wed, Nov 24 2010, 6:37 pm EST    Post subject: Re: CRANBURY: School Board to ask public for help on budget Guest wrote: Let's leave the party politics out of this thread. Suffice it to say, we've been getting screwed by the state for decades. You are absolutely correct we have been screwed for decades, but what through our district into crisis was the current administrations cessation of all aid.
Guest	Posted: Wed, Nov 24 2010, 6:21 pm EST    Post subject: Re: CRANBURY: School Board to ask public for help on budget Let's leave the party politics out of this thread. Suffice it to say, we've been getting screwed by the state for decades.
Guest	Posted: Wed, Nov 24 2010, 5:12 pm EST    Post subject: Re: CRANBURY: School Board to ask public for help on budget Guest wrote: Guest wrote: Guest wrote: How many students live in the affordable housing in town? 20 kids? 16 17k a kid = 340k Doesn't the state give us money to offset this cost? Nope. We don't get a penny from the State. used to, but the Governor took 100% of it without reducing any state mandates. Meanwhile where districts were already completely sucking up major state dollars, derived from our contributions from our taxes, they lost only a little funding. Jamesburg, for example. So the state takes our money, doesn't distribute any of it back, loads us up with expensive requirements then caps our budgets and tells us to figure it out.
Guest	Posted: Wed, Nov 24 2010, 4:55 pm EST    Post subject: Re: CRANBURY: School Board to ask public for help on budget Guest wrote: Guest wrote: How many students live in the affordable housing in town? 20 kids? 16 17k a kid = 340k Doesn't the state give us money to offset this cost?
Guest	Posted: Wed, Nov 24 2010, 4:50 pm EST    Post subject: Re: CRANBURY: School Board to ask public for help on budget You are right. I did not realize 20% of our kids require the on-going services of the child study team. I don't know what a typical student:study team ratio should be. If our set up is typical, we're probably staffed reasonably. If districts twice our size are using the same resources, there is probably an opportunity for shared services. The other question I have is, is "Resource Program In-class" a job classification for "teacher"? If so, it looks like we have about 7 teachers per grade. Is this typical?