Voters in West Windsor and Plainsboro will decide the fate of the $153.5 million school budget when they head to the polls on Tuesday, April 15.##M:[more]##
The school board approved the budget during its March 25 public hearing after hearing comments from two of about ten residents in attendance. Also on the ballot: An uncontested election for a board member from Plainsboro and three candidates vying for two seats in West Windsor (see story, page 13).
The $153.5 million budget overall is up by $6.3 million — a 4.3 percent increase — and includes a local tax levy increase of 3.5 percent, with West Windsor residents seeing a 3.2 percent increase in their tax bills, and Plainsboro residents seeing a 5.9 percent decrease.
The amount to be raised through taxation in West Windsor is $78.1 million, up from last year’s $75.7 million, and in Plainsboro, $49.9 million will be collected from residents, down from $53 million last year. The tax rate itself is up 5.2 cents — to $1.25 per $100— in West Windsor and down 8.6 cents — to $1.35 per $100 — in Plainsboro. This spells an increase of $289 to a total $6,”962 school tax bill for West Windsor residents with homes assessed at the township average of $556,”973, and a decrease of $342 to $5,”369 for residents in Plainsboro with an average assessed home of $397,”720.
The hearing came after six meetings on the budget since January, during which school officials attributed growing enrollment, an increase in salary, wage, and pension costs, and a rise in fuel costs to this year’s budget increase. As a result of growing enrollment, the board added three teachers at the high school level, a guidance counselor at High School North, a teacher at the middle school level, a custodian, and a technology staff member this year.
During the public hearing before the board’s unanimous vote of approval, West Windsor resident Pete Weale criticized the board for conducting the public hearing when its sound board for the microphones was down, and for holding the public hearing during the week of spring break when many people are away for vacation. In response, board president Hemant Marathe said the board was not allowed to hold the public hearing on March 18, a week prior.
“This is one of the more important meetings in the townships, and it’s absolutely essential that the message be heard,” Weale said. “It would be arguable that you are not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
“I would submit a proposal, given the sum total of administrative costs around the table, that we have someone learn” how to operate the sound board so there could be some back-up expertise, Weale added.
Weale also said he appeared before the school board about five times already, specifically to request that the meetings be videotaped for rebroadcast.
With regard to the budget, Weale said his biggest topic of concern was the labor contract negotiations currently underway regarding salaried staff and administrators. He said that the negotiations will yield new three-year contracts for school district staff and “I don’t know how the board of education, much less labor lawyers can see three years into the future.”
He said any increase in salary and benefits should be looked at closely, especially given the stock market and economic conditions around the country and in New Jersey. “I know 10 families who have done their voting with their feet,” Weale. “They want the New Jersey wages, but they are moving to Pennsylvania, which is a tax-friendly state, and that is critical because there are fewer of us left here to pick up the dime.”
“I am respectfully asking this board to hold the line on these costs, get greater contributions in terms of health benefits and reduced overall compensation moving forward,” Weale added.
Another resident, James Blaine of Village Grande, said he didn’t understand why, with increasing energy costs, some children who live in West Windsor were bused to schools in Plainsboro and vice versa. He also suggested the board outsource all of its bus drivers so that it could save on pension plans and healthcare costs. Marathe said because the school district is so large, there needs to be some in-house busing.
Blaine also said that assisting students with their college applications “is not a taxpayer responsibility,” in reference to the need for another guidance counselor at High School North. “The responsibility belongs to the student and his or her parents,” he said. “There is much information available during college nights, from the colleges themselves, libraries, and the internet. I believe it’s not right to saddle taxpayers with the costs that should not be theirs.”
Assistant Superintendent of Pupil Services Thomas Smith said the reason why the district needed another counselor was to balance the student-counselor ratio with an increased enrollment.
After the meeting, Superintendent Victoria Kniewel emphasized what school officials have been saying during budget discussions: that students in the WW-P district receive an “above-average education for just about an average price.” This theme was repeated by Shanok in earlier budget presentations, when he noted the district’s per pupil spending, according to state report cards released in January, which show that it is on par with the state average, with the comparative cost per pupil at West Windsor-Plainsboro schools at $12,”153, just $3 above the state average of $12,”150.
Despite the average price, the district boasts an athletic program that offers 29 out of 32 possible sports and consistently reports high state proficiency scores and SAT scores, Shanok pointed out.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, April 15. Here is a list of the polling locations:
In West Windsor: — Polling District No. 1 – Polling place at Grover Middle School, 10 Southfield Road, Princeton Junction, New Jersey, in the School District for legal voters residing within Mercer General District No.(s) 1 and 11.
— Polling District No. 2 – Polling place at Village School, 601 New Village Road, Princeton Junction, New Jersey, in the School District for legal voters residing within Mercer General District No.(s) 6, 8, 12, 13, 15, and 16.
— Polling District No. 3 – Polling place at Maurice Hawk Elementary School, 303-305 Clarksville Road, Princeton Junction, New Jersey, in the School District for legal voters residing within Mercer General District No.(s) 2, 4, 5, 7, and 10.
— Polling District No. 4 – Polling place at Grover Middle School, 10 Southfield Road, Princeton Junction, New Jersey, in the School District for legal voters residing within Mercer General District No.(s) 3, 9, and 14.
In Plainsboro: Polling District No.(s) 5-8 – Polling place at the Plainsboro Municipal Building for legal voters residing within Middlesex General District No.(s) 1-12.
