Although James McGreevey is no longer governor, the legacy he has left West Windsor-Plainsboro and other school districts across the state is one big headache. But with the acting-governor Richard Codey taking over, and the school budget season fast approaching, the board is looking at how it can improve the situation.##M:[more]##
Bill S1701/A99, known as the School Caps Bill, was passed by the State Assembly last June to limit school spending for public school districts across the state and keep property taxes in check. But critics across the state say that it puts too many restrictions on school boards and will adversely impact the quality of education. In September New Jersey Assemblyman Bill Baroni introduced a bill that, if passed, would effectively nullify the law.
“The law has features that are not fair to the district,” says Hemant Marathe, president of the board and a West Windsor resident. “(In making a budget) we do everything upfront and there are no hidden games with numbers. The law puts severe restrictions on what we can and can’t do.”
At its meeting on November 16, the board discussed whether it should approve a resolution to support a bid to overturn S1701/A99. “The board has gone on record that 1701 imposes severe restrictions on a school district’s ability (to do its job),” says Henry Wieck, school board member from Plainsboro. “This would formalize that resolve.”
Over the coming months, the board will begin formulating a budget for the 2005-’06 school year. “The external constraints the legislation places on us will certainly impact the budget-making process,” says Steve Smith, board member from West Windsor. “But it will not be felt so much until the January or February timeframe (when the creation of the budget is in full swing). Before that time we are hoping for some guidance, interpretation, or legislation (to improve the situation.)”
After Bill S1701/A99 passed, by seven votes, Assemblyman Baroni called it “the most damaging change to the school environment in my lifetime.” Intended to keep rampant school spending in check and help keep property taxes down, the law reduces the annual spending growth from 3 percent to 2.5 percent and reduces the allowable amount of surplus funds a district can hold from 6 percent to 3 percent (dipping to 2 percent in 2005). It also eliminates cap exceptions for growth in enrollment and special-education costs.
The immediate impact was felt on the district last summer when it had difficulty completing a number of capital improvement projects at some of its older facilities such as High School South. But much of that work has been accomplished anyway. “Most of the projects, including the roof at High School South and Millstone River, have already been finished or are on their way to being accomplished,” says Marathe.
The law’s impact on spending will be felt in each succeeding budgetary year. By restricting spending increases to 2.5 percent, the legislation ties the school board’s hands in its ability to make decisions about the district. “People’s expectations for education are different from district to district across the state,” says Liyou Yang, a boardmember from Plainsboro. He also points out that under the new law, if a district’s voters are inclined to increase spending above the limit for some reason, its voters will be unable to make that decision due to the cap.
“These are constraints we will have to live with,” says Yang. “Based on past experience, there are some items in a budget that will go up no matter what.” These include such things as staff pay raises as well as the costs of employee benefits like healthcare insurance, which increases an average of 14 to 15 percent a year. “These items will continue to rise in our new budget and that means other things will have to give,” says Yang.
The board’s resolution, which is expected to be voted on at its next meeting on November 23, charges that McGreevey’s law will force districts to reduce budget surpluses that will result in initial tax decreases followed by tax increases; will force districts to cut education programs; will result in districts being unable to meet the state’s Core Curriculum Content standards; will force districts to defer necessary maintenance and repairs; and will require districts to obtain the Commissioner of Education’s approval on the transferring of funds, which will shift a simple budgetary decision from the community to a state bureaucracy.
The spending cap will also impact upcoming contracts. Negotiations are about to get underway between the district and the teachers’ union, the West Windsor-Plainsboro Education Association (WWPEA), which has a contract set to run out at the end of the current school year. “Everyone will tell you that it will have an impact, but nobody knows how,” says Stan Katz, board member from West Windsor and chair of the board’s WWPEA negotiating committee. “Will it put pressure on the union to accept a smaller increase? Will it instead look for other areas to reduce spending? No one is really sure. All they know for sure is that it will have an impact.”
According to the New Jersey School Boards Association website, the spending cap law will have a profound effect on school boards’ contract negotiations and it warns boards to “be realistically prepared to expect that your union will not embrace, or easily accept, your argument that you have unprecedented limits on resources to fund a settlement.” It also encourages school boards to “be committed and resolved to advocate your district’s needs and to repeatedly convey the realities created by the new law.”
If the law is not overturned in time for the next budget, Wieck says that S1701 will be carefully studied before the hard numbers for the next budget can be created. “There is some concern on just how all the numbers are calculated and we will look at how these numbers will affect our particular district as it pertains to such things as the number of students in the district and other particulars.”
Marathe says that the state should leave the district alone. “I can see several other districts getting in trouble with the budget,” he says. “But we came up with a plan for two years in the future. We have been responsible in crafting budgets that the communities have supported. The law should allow us to continue doing that.”
Yang says that in considering the resolution the board is interested in supporting grass roots efforts to amend or overturn the law. He admits, however, that it is unlikely that the spending cap law can be overturned in time for the next budget. “We really don’t have a clear idea whether it will be a priority for the new assembly or under the leadership of the acting-governor,” he says. “But this resolution will allow the board to support the effort, no matter how long it takes.”
