The Cherry Hill Board of Education held the first in a series of budget talks on Tuesday, Feb. 5 to discuss the mandated tax levy cap and shortfalls in the 2013–2014 budget.
A public hearing and final adoption date has not yet been set as of publication.
Currently, there is a $628,000 shortfall in the budget, which could mean cuts to staff and programs, according to Superintendent Dr. Maureen Reusche.
All present school board members supported a two percent tax levy increase.
“If we cut our staff anymore, we’re jeopardizing our children’s academic success,” said member Sherri Cohen.
Vice President Carol Matlack expressed an interest in looking at a 1.87 percent cap and seeing where cuts could come from other than staffing.
If a tax levy increase was limited to 1 percent, said member Elliot Smith, there would be a roughly $1.5 million shortfall in the budget.
“I’m comfortable with two percent,” said member Steve Robbins, citing that the district shouldn’t spend added time to find more cuts.
According to Business Administrator Jim Devereaux, there are fewer places to find additional revenue this year.
If the district had been under the gun at the time of the meeting, said Reusche, there would be definite staff reduction.
“We are getting to the point,” she said. “There isn’t any other place for us to go.”
Staff comprise of 80 percent of the district’s budget, she said.
The first step would be to find which staff members have the least direct contact with students, while avoiding cuts to staff who have constant student contact.
“We would be looking at reductions in those areas,” she said.
The total budget may come to about $174 million, but much is still to be determined, including how much state aid will be received.
Gov. Christie will hold his annual budget speech on Feb. 26, with aid amounts being released to schools on Feb. 28.
More details were to be discussed at the scheduled Tuesday, Feb. 12 meeting, including the possibility of holding another workshop meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 19.
Many concerns were discussed, including the time requirements for the mandated teacher evaluation system and the lack of funds for new computers anywhere in the district.
Smith asked if there would be more repairs needed with aging technology.
“That’s always a risk that’s there with everything we’re using,” said Reusche.
What is in the budget has been in the process of being refined for a couple of months, she said.
“You can see how it becomes more difficult when you finally get to that bottom line,” Reusche said.
