Students in our district continue to excel academically, athletically, and in the arts, and we celebrate their achievements. We ask your support for our efforts to continue to provide an excellent educational opportunity, because we believe taxpayers are receiving excellent value for their investment.
While enrollment over the past nine years is up 12 percent, administrators have been cut by 15 percent. Eight years ago costs were 5 percent above the New Jersey state average; now the district’s per pupil spending is 10 percent below state average.
Between 1996 and 2003 budget increases averaged 9.3 percent — since then, they have averaged 2.9 percent, which is mainly due to the target set by the board in 2003 to limit increases to one point less than the increase in student population plus inflation.
This discipline has held in spite of a significant reduction in state aid. Two years ago state aid to West Windsor-Plainsboro was cut by 27 percent; last year it was cut by another 71 percent. Virtually all of that aid is for extraordinary special education costs and transportation, and there is no way to reduce those mandated costs by those percentages — indeed, they continue to grow.
Yet by continuing a process of disciplined belt tightening, and targeting areas of greatest inefficiency (like buildings and grounds), and with a modest restoration of state aid (about one fifth of what was cut over two years), we believe we have crafted a budget that maintains an excellent academic and extracurricular program that deserves your support.
We have been members of the West Windsor-Plainsboro Board of Education for a combined 17 years and currently serve as president and vice president. Based on our experience in producing 10 budgets during both normal and difficult economic times, in our opinion the residents of West Windsor and Plainsboro continue to get real value for their educational spending. We believe that after a careful and objective look at our financial and student performance, you will agree with our opinion. We urge you to approve the budget on Wednesday, April 27.
Hemant Marathe, President
Robert Johnson, Vice President
WW-P Board of Education
