To the Editor:
Proud of the Budget
In presenting the proposed 2008-’09 budget, the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District Board of Education is sensitive to current economic times. As community residents, we do realize the impact of tax increases on family finances. We must balance this impact against needs of our public school system. We are committed to containing costs, but also to providing an educational program of which we are proud.##M:[more]##
The proposed budget ensures strong student/teacher ratios, as we believe that the number of students in a classroom affects teaching and learning. Where increases in enrollment are taking place, we have proposed adding teaching positions, particularly at the high school and middle school levels.
We also are proud that we have not reduced the athletic program or co-curricular offerings, as we know that these activities help students who are gifted outside the traditional classroom setting. Funding also is being set aside for professional development, which allows teachers and staff to continue honing their skills. We are balancing the high costs of energy as it affects transportation and the heating and cooling of our facilities. We are investing in a new student information system to help us manage day-to-day operations of our district more efficiently. Funding for capital projects will continue. As we move forward in the negotiations process, we are working to offer a fair and balanced salary and benefits package for our talented and dedicated teachers and staff.
On April 15, residents have a responsibility to vote on the school budget and elect three members to the Board of Education. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m.
Hemant Marathe
President, WW-P School Board
Vote No on Budget
Following are excerpts from a statement presented at the March 25 school board meeting:
* The Board has been aware of prospective reductions in State aid and acute budgetary constraints since January, if not earlier. Yet what the current budget is the creative reconfiguration of how to spend more money. To wit? Review the budget transfers for the past year. Percentages are misleading: staff wages are killing the golden goose.
* The greatest conundrum worth your genius? The WW-P Board and the WWPEA (teacher’s union) are in negotiations to see what increases (decreases?) will be presented to taxpayers as “contractual labor agreements over which we have no control.” The public has no assurances the Board’s paid labor negotiators are showing the last 15 years of increases vs. the unending spiral of labor and benefit increases fueling unchecked property taxes. How can the Board and union see three years into the future?
* Who has the courage at the local or state level to rationally halt the public employee wage spiral? Will the Board negotiate actual reductions for the next three years? Blasphemy! Or reality? Will WW-P staff be expected to pick up half of its medical expenses which were magnanimously transferred last year to the state taxpayers?
* In 2006 at Community Middle School, I queried the cost of the $27.5 million bond referendum. I inquired about the cost of the architect, the bond underwriting costs, and what the total bond would cost us. The Board proponents insisted, absolutely, that everything was included in the figures. Now, not two years later, there is an asterisk: “Additional capital reserve funds may be needed in addition to the approved $27.5 million 2006 Bond Referendum for the capital projects because of market conditions.” Promises made, promises broken.
* If the total property valuation of the WW-P Schools is $200 million, and the Board is budgeting only $1.5 million for capital improvements, it seems the Board did not learn its lesson about deferred maintenance. What we don’t repair now, inevitably costs more to replace. The District’s exterior maintenance should be outsourced.
* The Board needs to reallocate resources by ensuring all teaching staff and administrators pick up a greater portion of their medical insurance and pension costs, and focus on some taxpayer relief.
* I oppose the current budget, which seems to coincide with the financial cap more than a documented systematic reduction and relatively parsimonious scrutiny of the budget. The PowerPoint presentations for the six previous budget areas seem to contain pictures and “soft” information to boost the number of report pages rather than the detail the rigorous, constructive reviews necessary for a win-win budget.
* Vote “no” on the submitted budget to taxpayers. With a proposed budget of $153,”485,”729.00, WW-P should not be competing with the payroll of the World Champion Boston Red Sox. Rather, we must do more, with less.
Peter R. Weale
Fisher Place, West Windsor
Candidate’s Goals
I’d like to clarify some of my goals as a potential member of the West Windsor-Plainsboro school board. I intend to focus on the ongoing provision of quality education to all students. While keeping quality in mind, I also want to support a focus on research-supported instruction and programs for students in order to make maximum use of our tax dollars. Contrary to what was previously printed in the WW-P News, I am pleased with my eldest son’s out-of-district placement at Rockbrook.
What I lament is that the same type of program does not exist in district. We need to expand the continuum of in-district programs ss needed and in the long run will save a tremendous amount of tax dollars.
My experience as a parent of children with varying needs, from above grade level to requiring special education, affords me the opportunity to truly comprehend the range of student needs within our school system. As testament to my dedication to the needs of all students, I have attended educational seminars on bullying, promoting peace within the schools, differentiated instruction, inclusion, managing challenging behavior, social skills, siblings of special needs children, and special education law.
I feel parents have a lot to offer toward the educational process. As such I would like to see more meaningful parent involvement. A district approach that emphasizes collaboration and respect should result in curtailing the escalating litigation rate this district has been experiencing. As part of a responsive and accountable board of education, an in-depth analysis of why the district’s legal fees have been increasing by $100,”000 per year needs to be addressed.
Our schools are not simply buildings to be maintained and staffed, but structures for learning where what goes on inside the classroom is really what will enable the children of West Windsor and Plainsboro to reach their full potential. Mindy Fox-Heifler
The Friends of the West Windsor Branch of the Mercer County Library wish to thank the community for its generous support of our Annual Book Sale. We also want to thank our many volunteers who helped make this sale a rousing success.
The Annual Book Sale is the Friends of the Library only fundraiser. Proceeds from the sale are used to support special community events held at the Library, fund the Library’s children’s programs, expand the Library’s collection, as well as support other projects and purchases not funded by the Mercer County Library System budget.
The Library accepts donations of new and gently used books and audiovisual materials year round. Some of the donations are put into circulation while others are sorted and held for sale. Please bring your donations to the front desk.
Thank you again and we hope to see you at next year’s book sale!
Janis Abraham
Patricia Huie
Sylvia Russo
Chairs 2008 Book Sale
(1). If holding the Public Hearing Special Meeting last week Tuesday (18 March) was two days too early, perhaps Thursday (20 March) would have met the State’s official criteria? The District’s budget presentation should have been held when school was still in session (aware school was closed on Good Friday) and many of our school parents still in town. I believe the meeting could have been proactively scheduled.
(2). The public presentation and discussion were held without benefit of a public address sound system, which fell victim to a defective sound board. Having any of the administrators, Board members, or support staff cross-trained to ensure the meeting met Americans with Disabilities Act criteria seems to be a minimum. I suggested the meeting be postponed because the comments were inaudible and there seemed to be no formal audio recording of the meeting.
(3). I have appeared multiple times during the past two years to advocate the Board’s adoption of videotaping Board meetings for rebroadcast. Meaningful information is exchanged during meetings which is the basis for the request to inform and educate our community.
(4). For example, tonight’s presentation by eight international students who have recently attended WWP High Schools shared their perspectives in an exchange with the Board. This information, along with the budget presentation, should have been broadcast live or rebroadcast, and captured for an historical record.
