Long Walk Home

Tonight was the annual Board of School Estimate vote on the school budget. For those who do not know, South Orange/Maplewood are quite unique by the nature of the joint school district and as a result the school budget is not voted on directly the the residents, but by a "Board of School Estimate", which consists of three elected officials from South Orange, three elected officials from Maplewood and two members of the Board of Education. This year the budget passed unanimously 8-0.

This was my 3rd budget and certainly the most difficult, largely the result of a MASSIVE cut to State Aid by Governor Christie. As a result of the cut, very difficult choices were made by the Administration and Board of Ed to propose a budget with a 3.23% increase in South Orange. Further compounding an increase beyond the original target and beyond the rate of inflation was the fact that this budget delayed the implementation of a technology lab in the Middle School and results in the outsourcing of paraprofessional staff. Certainly any budget that directly impacts people is painful and difficult for everyone involved and not something that anyone relishes. Having been the victim of the budget axe firsthand, I know exactly how it feels. I know it is a minor consolation, but the staff that are being outsourced will be offered a job with the outsourced agency (albeit without health care benefits) and will be reassigned to the District if they so choose.

This is an incredibly frustrating situation all around and the anger can and should be best directed at Trenton for putting the district in a no-win situation. The Superintendent and Board of Ed should be commended for doing the best they could with the limited resources they were provided by the Governor. All School Districts in NJ are dealing with this new harsh reality and in the end I think the decisions that were made were an attempt to minimize the impact on education for the majority of our students. I just now hope that the Teachers Union accepts the zero percent salary increase that was built into this budget, so further cuts are not needed.