School board president urges residents to vote

On April 15, the citizens of Brick Township will be asked to vote on the 2008-09 school district budget. This is amost important day for the entire Brick community. As you are aware, a school district budget is a financial expression of an educational program, and as such, sets the tone for proposed revenue and expenditures. The New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards, No Child Left Behind, and the Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act are the foundation upon which educational programs are developed, implemented and assessed.

The district's two largest sources of revenue are the local tax levy and state aid. On Jan. 7, the state Senate passed, by the minimum required margin, the "historical" School Funding Reform Act of 2008. Touted as being "good for all children and all communities," the act failed to address six years of flat state funding endured by our district; provides for weighted funding for only 14 percent or our 18 percent special-education students, and determined that those of us residing in ZIP codes 08723/08724 are property- and incomerich and are not paying our "fair share."

The bottom line is that we will be receiving a meager 2 percent increase over each of the next three years, and in the fourth year, our state aid will be reduced by $6 million. In other words, this year we will receive $39,785,000 in state aid and in year four we will receive $25,392,314.

This year the district applied for waivers, which are costs for unusual increases in items such as fuel, pension contributions and special education. Waivers are included in the budget but are not included in the 4 percent cap. Districts applying for waivers were required to submit their budget to intense scrutiny by the executive county superintendent and the New Jersey Department of Education.

The purpose of the reviews was to determine if all levels of efficiencies are being implemented and to ascertain if there were other areas in the budget that could be reduced in order to decrease the dollar amount of the waivers being requested. Examples of supplemental information the district was required to provide included out-ofdistrict placements, transportation, staffing levels for paraprofessionals, maintenance, custodial and administrators, class size, proof of district participation in cost-saving consortiums, and descriptions of shared services with the town and other districts.

Within the limitations of a 4 percent cap, and the need to maintain educational programs and services for all of our students, the board, determined that the most fiscally responsible option available was to close the Primary Learning Center and the Laurelton School. These difficult decisions were made only after cuts in several other areas, including athletics, were made and all feasible options were thoroughly reviewed. The Laurelton School property will be sold and the PLC will be utilized as a revenue

stream for the district.

Reductions in staff, including three administrative positions, were made and are commensurate with declining enrollment. The budget maintains all academic programs for all children, and in fact we were able to include long-overdue initiatives and course offerings at the high school level, as well as provide funds to purchase supplemental instructional materials for the district's new reading program.

Throughout the past several months, the board has been actively working to lobby for changes in the School Funding Formula Act of 2008. The Legislative Action Center on the school Web site provides names and addresses of our state and federal representatives, sample letters, and an explanation of the issues. Parents, students, staff, and other concerned Brick citizens rallied on the steps of the Statehouse in opposition to the funding formula and we personally delivered our petitions with over 2,000 signatures to the governor's office.

The board and our central administrators continue to meet with our legislators, local officials, and other districts. Please visit the Legislative Action Center and send a letter, e-mail, or make a phone call to Trenton. As a community, we need to let Trenton know that the hardworking people of Brick Township are paying more than their fair share for our children's education. It is the state that is not paying its fair share for the children and residents residing in our ZIP codes.

On behalf of the 10,606 students in the district and all of the residents of our community, I encourage you to take the opportunity to exercise your right to cast your ballot. Information pertaining to the proposed 2008-09 and other information regarding the district can be accessed at www.brickschools.org. If you have any questions, we urge you to contact the superintendent at (732) 785-3000, ext 1019 or Mpersi@brickschools.org.

Cynthia McCarthy

President Brick Township Board of Education