Budget discussions, including speculation about enrollment increases and employee benefit costs, continued at the March 10 Board of Education meeting. Board members voted 6 to 1 to send the tentative $192,358,164 budget to Mercer County. Board members Dana Krug and Yingchao Zhang were not present. Scott Powell voted against the budget, saying he was “looking for a smaller increase” over last year’s budget than the 2.1 percent bump proposed.
In a short presentation outlining the expected expenditures, revenues, and capital expenses included in the budget, Superintendent David Aderhold noted that the numbers may change based on the West Windsor and Plainsboro townships’ assessed values, which have not yet been provided to the school district.
“There are other items that we need to guess at, such as enrollment. Enrollment drives staffing, which impacts the budget. Some grades such as kindergarten are very difficult to predict from year to year. Moreover, we need to keep potential new development in mind. This year, we are keeping our eye on the new development slated to take place where the Princeton Theological Seminary students previously lived. This proposed new development has already been approved by West Windsor Township, and may bring a significant increase in the number of students to our district, all of whom are slated to attend Maurice Hawk, Village, Grover and High School South.”
In addition, said Aderhold, the cost of employee benefits is another area that is difficult to predict from year to year, and it is important that the district budget estimate be enough to cover an increase.
Board President Tony Fleres noted that the Board members and the administration staff spent a significant amount of time at both budget retreats discussing class sizes as well, in an effort to reduce the teacher/student ratio while remaining fiscally responsible.
The Board also held the second readings of the revised policies relating to student smoking, home instruction due to a student’s health condition, and attendance. In the revised attendance policy, the Board confirmed that there will be only two categories of absences: excused and unexcused. Absences due to illness, family illness or death, doctor’s appointments, driver’s license exams, Take Your Child to Work Day, suspension, and college visits are all considered excused; absences due to vacation will be considered unexcused.
Joan Ruddiman, the district’s gifted and talented resource specialist, and several high school Future Problem Solver (FPS) students spoke at the meeting. The students narrated a power point presentation outlining some FPS projects they have been participating in, and Ruddiman explained that both WW-P middle schools and high schools send the maximum number of teams (three each) to the State FPS Bowl. She announced that WW-P has been asked to allow students to be trained as judges for FPS competitions, because of the district’s outstanding FPS program. Fourteen students from WW-P will become FPS judges.
Fleres recognized a number of retiring staff members for their service to the district: Kathryn Doby, a teacher at Dutch Neck Elementary School, 22 years of service; Sharon Feig, a computer facilitator at Millstone River, 21 years of service; school nurses Kristine Grabell and Valerie Leiggi, 20 and 28 years of service, respectively; Bonnie Luning, an occupational therapist at Dutch Neck, 21 years of service; High School South Media Specialists Deborah Marinsky and Randye McBride, 16 and 18 years of service, respectively; and Maurice Hawk Secretary Amy Harris, after 16 years of service.
