BOE member: Closing PLC, Laurelton best option

Iwould like to explain the "tentative" budget that was recently adopted by the Brick Township Board of Education and why it needed to be done. By law, the Board of Education has to adopt a preliminary budget that includes a viable plan for the upcoming school year.

Like other districts, we have been caught off-guard by state aid figures that were much lower than anticipated due to Gov. Corzine's flawed school funding formula. The governor's formula hits us with budgetary constraints while at the same denying us the amount of state aid we truly deserve. Currently, we are forming alliances with other school districts in the same situation to bring suit against the state in order to put a stop to the governor's unfair funding formula that literally puts us behind the proverbial eight ball.

Because of the state funding situation, the Board of Education is looking at creative ways to reduce spending. Alternative energy sources like wind power, solar energy and shared government services that would save the district millions of dollars in the future are all being considered.

In addition, other unpalatable options including the closing of schools had to be explored. While this was an avenue we did not want to take, it would have been irresponsible not to at least consider. After listening to the community, options of closing Herbertsville and Osbornville schools were deemed unacceptable because we would have been forced to displace students, disrupt neighborhoods and lay off a significant number of faculty members.

The other option, which was accepted in the preliminary budget, would be to close the Primary Learning Center and Laurelton School. When the PLC was opened, it was desperately needed because of increased enrollment in our district. This school is a terrific place with a dedicated staff. However, presently its closing is the most viable option when faced with decreased enrollment and insufficient state aid. The savings of closing this school including reduced student transportation costs would be just under $1 million and cause the least impact to our children

In closing Laurelton School, which only houses 60 children out of the district's 11,000 students, we will save an additional $30,000 and the building's sale would present us with a significant income and enable us to balance our budget.

The sky is not falling. Children presently at the PLC would finish there and those students attending kindergarten next year along with the faculty would do so at the respective neighborhood school they would be sent to for grades one through five. Children will not be hurt and the community will save much-needed money to balance the budget. The Laurelton School children can then go to a section of the PLC building while the rest of the facility can be used for either administrative offices or possibly to sell or rent. The bottom line is, the taxpayers will have a say in the final outcome.

This budget passed 5-2 with the two dissenting votes coming from Board Members Woska and Reinhold. I respect their right to vote as they choose, but when they cast their no votes they failed to make any recommendations of how to balance our budget. Saying no is easy, but looking at options that some might deem unfavorable is hard and I find it careless not to do so.

No one wants to close a school, especially me. As a retired teacher who taught high school for 37 years with a master's degree in education, and the father of two children who where educated in the Brick school system, I take very seriously the hard choices that might need to be made that can affect future generations of children. I want my grandchildren to be able to have the same opportunities my children had in this district and because of that I have looked very closely how every option would effect today just as much as tomorrow.

While nothing is written in stone, in my opinion as a former educator along with my concerns as a taxpayer, it is clear to me that the present option in front of us causes the least disruption to the children we are charged with educating and places the least burden on the taxpayers who pay for that education.

Frank M. Pannucci

Brick Township Board of Education Member