The Moorestown Board of Education approved the preliminary budget to be sent to the county for approval for the 2015–2016 school year on Tuesday, March 17. The average Moorestown homeowner, with a home assessed at $446,500, would pay an additional $237.28 per year in school taxes if the school district’s preliminary budget is passed, down from the previous number of $244.29.
“As you know, we’ve been talking about our 2015–2016 budget for quite some time now. It is a work in progress; it changes from time to time. It is an ever-changing process, but one thing remains constant, and that is maintaining and sustaining an outstanding education for our children,” Superintendent Timothy Rehm said.
Changes from the budget presented on March 9 are: the budget was reduced by $100,000 with the activities fee removed; the budget was reduced in salaries due to two retirements for $61,000; and the maintenance budget was reduced by $39,000.
“After hearing a lot of discussion and being open to discussion from our community, staff and students, we felt that at this time we would put the activity fee on the backburner for this year, but not to completely dismiss the concept in upcoming years as we face very difficult times of revenue,” Rehm said.
For the March 17 presentation of the budget, the budget was projected at $65.4 million in expenditures and $64.3 million in revenue. The board said the projected $1.1 million deficit would be made up by using a Spending Growth Limitations Adjustment of $683,601 for health-care costs as well as the use of $390,339 in banked cap from the 2012–2013 budget.
The SGLA is a spending adjustment cap that allows the district to go beyond the 2 percent cap without a need for a referendum. Moorestown didn’t qualify for this in previous years, but does this year. The General Fund State Aid was $3,112,139 and the Debt Service Aid was $463,735, which is a decrease of about $864 from last year.
“It is not a secret, our state funding has gone down. Our demographics have changed and yet our state funding has gone down. What disappoints me about this state aid is there are certain lines that we should be receiving here in Moorestown, for instance the equalization aid. Within Burlington County 37 districts received $286 million, three districts got none; we are one of those. There is so much that we should be getting from our wonderful state. If you do have extra energy and time, write to our legislators and let them know Moorestown deserves more aid,” board President Kathy Goldenberg said.
The board said it has been in talks with the South Jersey Health Insurance Fund to try to save some money. The district’s current plan with Aetna is estimated to increase by 22 percent to 27 percent. The fund has a maximum increase of 15 percent, so switching the district’s health insurance provider could help it save $1 million, the board said.
Salaries and benefits account for $52.5 million, or roughly 80 percent, of the total budget.
Additions to the 2015–2016 school budget include resources to provide support for special needs students with either one-to-one or related service support; a full-time basic skills position to address the need for reading and math support at the elementary level; and resources to support the three-year technology plan developed to create a one-to-one environment for grades seven through nine.
Cuts include an operational-mechanic/attendance officer, physical education teacher at the middle school/high school and a world language teacher at the middle school along with the retirements mentioned above.
The board said the district’s main goals for the 2015–2016 year are to maintain a curriculum for all grades that supports excellence in academic achievement, to continue to provide technology resources to meet how society is today, and to be sure that they are remaining efficient in all areas of the budget.
“Our minds are now focused on generating revenue to the district, and that is something that you will be hearing more about in the following months and years,” Rehm said.
To see the budget presentation, visit the district website at www.mtps.com.
The initial submission of the preliminary budget to the county office was done on March 20.
The final approval and public hearing will be on April 28 at 7 p.m. at William Allen Middle School.
