Last weekend, a robotics team from High School North/High School South was part of a three-team winning alliance in a competition of 61 teams, and will go on to participate in the national robotics competition. Students from High School North captured first place in the regional Science Bowl at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and will compete for the national championship. And the High School South girls swimming team won the NJSIAA Public ‘A’ State Tournament championship.
Multiple teams winning state competitions in one weekend would be an extraordinary feat for most school districts, but is not unusual for the WW-P school district. Indeed, the quality of our schools, which offer one of the best public educations in the country, is a major reason many of our residents moved to the district.
A consistent record of achievement should guarantee continued support for the school budget, but we have a difficult job this year balancing priorities in a difficult economic climate. As taxpayers, each of us, including board members, has a strong personal interest in controlling the cost of education and eliminating wasteful budget increases. At the same time board members, as elected representatives of the community, must be responsible stewards, conscientious in representing our community and its expectations as best we can, and presenting to voters a prudent budget that we believe is in the best long-term interest of the school district and our students. I want to share some of what goes into the development of the budget.
In 2001, the school board established a goal of limiting budget increases to one percent less than the cost of living plus enrollment growth. Over the past six years, we have more than met this goal — budgets have been below this target. This budget discipline has had the cumulative effect of trimming the budget, while providing for stability and continued excellence. Further, in comparison with comparable neighboring districts, our budget discipline over time has brought our per-pupil spending below the state average — our per-pupil expenditure went from $500 above the state average to $300 below the state average in just five years. (See chart above.)
Last October, at a board retreat held at High School South, the school board began in-depth planning for the budget for the 2009-2010 school year, with a preliminary goal of limiting any budget increase to less than 3 percent (well below our target for the several preceding years). Since October, the board and administration have continued to review opportunities to further reduce expenses so that the current estimate calls for a 1.55 percent increase.
Because of our sustained discipline over the past years, it is more difficult to find targets for budget reductions without risking the educational program. The district faces the same increases in fixed cost like utilities and transportation that everyone else does. Further, we are legally obligated to meet state and federal mandates, many of which are either unfunded or greatly underfunded. In addition, inflexible and unreasonable rules imposed by the state have greatly reduced school districts’ flexibility in budgeting.
For example, the state imposed a 2 percent limit on the amount of surplus the district can carry forward from year to year — that’s a precariously low surplus. Prudent, long-range budgetary practices would provide for a larger surplus that would tide us over in difficult times. In a very difficult year like this year, if we had a larger surplus, we could draw on it to further reduce the tax levy needed to fund our schools. Unfortunately, that tool has been taken from us.
Another aspect of this reduced flexibility is that deep cuts in any single year could, for all intents and purposes, permanently damage the district’s educational program, because of other state-imposed budget rules. Such damage could also jeopardize the district’s AAA bond rating from Standard & Poor (WW-P is one of only two districts in New Jersey and 30 in the country to have this highest S&P rating). These factors weigh heavily in the board’s deliberations — our district has a legacy of excellence that no board should nullify.
The district has a proven record of budgetary discipline while effectively responding to community, parents’ and students’ high expectations. The school board has done its best to ensure resources sufficient to support the highest levels of accomplishment, while pushing to identify continued improvements and efficiencies in district administrative and educational practices.
We hope in future articles to provide additional information about the school budget. The next board meeting to discuss the budget is on Tuesday, March 17, at Community Middle School in Plainsboro, with a public hearing scheduled for Tuesday, March 31. Information is also available on the district website (www.ww-p.org), where you can also find contact information for the administration and board members.
We believe that this school budget deserves your support. We hope that after reviewing all available information you will agree.
