Schools
Garwood School District Still Facing Tough Budget Despite State Aid
To compensate for the budget gap, the BOE will create a second public question, asking residents if they would financially support programs that cannot be covered under the two percent cap.
The Garwood Board of Education expressed mixed emotions after Governor Chris Christie announced a $311,904 budget for the Garwood school district, an increase of $82,194 compared to last year’s budget allocation.
Adele Lewis, the president of the board of education, was relieved that the state did not continue to cut schools’ budgets but the amount returned to each district was only a fraction of what was cut during the 2010-2011 school year.
The 2011-2012 budget increased school aid across the state by $249.3 million, which came one year after the governor slashed school spending by $820 million, according to numbers released by the governor’s office Wednesday.
Find out what's happening in Clark-Garwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“We are pleased with the news that we will get back $82,194,” said Adele Lewis, president of the Garwood Board of Education. “But this restoration of state aid for 2011-12 is a fraction of the state's $410,000 reduction in 2010.”
Lewis said that the overall effect of last year's state aid cut combined with the new state law capping the tax levy increase to two percent still leaves the Garwood school district in financial struggle.
Find out what's happening in Clark-Garwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
To compensate for the budget gap, the Garwood Board of Education will create a second question, which will ask residents if they would financially support programs that cannot be covered under the two percent cap, Lewis said. These programs include the continuation non-mandated programs that will be announced at a later date.
The announcement came after weeks of anticipating the worst and preparing for severe budget cuts, Lewis said.
“While the news of this restoration is welcomed, the reality is that revenues do not cover ongoing costs, such health care premiums and other costs that rise at faster than the rate of inflation. Until these fixed costs are reigned in, the district will be forced to cut back every year.”
Christie said in his budget proposal that every district in New Jersey will receive an increase of state aid for education, indicating that 2011 is the “year of education reform in New Jersey.” Each district is set to receive a one percent increase in state aid under the governor's budget.
The Garwood Board of Education has a tentative public hearing on the budget on March 24 at 7:30 p.m.
