Town's school tab cut angers board members

Emotions ran high as Freehold Township Board of Education members voted 7-2 on May 13 to accept the Township Committee's decision to cut the 2008-09 tax levy by $923,369.

In effect, municipal officials have told the school board that it may collect just over $53 million from Freehold Township property owners in the coming year, instead of the $53.9 million the school board proposed collecting to support a $67.9 million budget.

"I am very disappointed in the actions against this board," said board member Stephen Buffett. "The Township Committee literally has cut every penny we had. The facts and information don't add up. They (the committee) totally disregarded 1,022 voters. They cut 100 percent of our increase."

Buffett was referring to the 1,022 residents who voted in favor of the $53.9 million tax levy on Election Day, April 15. The tax levy was defeated by a vote of 1,060 to 1,022.

The reduction in the tax levy that was agreed to by the school board last week means that the K-8 school tax rate will remain virtually unchanged in the coming school year.

The K-8 school tax rate is $1.79 per $100 of assessed valuation, which means that the owner of a home assessed at $200,000 pays about $3,580 in K-8 school taxes at the present time.

The school board was proposing to raise the school tax rate to $1.82 per $100 of assessed valuation for 2008-09.

Board member Grace McMillan said, "I am personally offended by the actions of the Township Committee. We are not a political board of education, but we, too, are elected officials. I find their actions unconscionable."

Board President Mindy Wille mirrored those thoughts, saying, "I was appalled at the actions of the Township Committee. To read it in the paper was unbelievable to all of us. I believe because they are a political body, they make decisions based on political futures - their own."

Board member Mike Williams said, "We have amateurs making decisions."

According to Freehold Township Superintendent of Schools William J. Setaro, as a result of the reduction in the tax levy and the total budget, changes to the district's curriculum and services are inevitable.

He said bus stops will be affected, with more students having to walk farther to get to their bus stops, and he said some courtesy busing may have to be eliminated.

Courtesy busing is the provision of bus service by the school district to students who live close to the school they attend and could be directed to walk to school. When busing is provided to students who live near a school, it is done so as a "courtesy."

Setaro said projects and improvements, such as plans to install air conditioning in the gymnasiums of two schools, will now be halted. Plans to hire additional custodians have also been stopped. He said there will be cuts to programming, but no specific information is available yet as to what will go.

According to Setaro, early-retirementincentive programs for teachers are costly and ineffective, and such a program will not be implemented in the coming year.

Many nontenured teachers will remain in the classroom, although Setaro made it clear that along with cutting programs may come some necessary loss of jobs. According to Setaro, retiring teachers' positions will be refilled.

"When someone retires, we must rehire; otherwise that [not hiring a replacement] will greatly increase class size," said Setaro. "If I cut a teacher, I cut a program."