Residents React: School Budget Defeat, Part 2

The tension of the defeated school budget lies in balancing the first-rate educational opportunities provided in Bernards Township, with the fact that roughly 70 percent of the property taxes raised to pay for those opportunities come from households with no children in the public schools.

According to a report filed by Township Demographer William Draper in July 2009, just 32.2 percent of Bernards' homes include children attending one of the township's six public schools, accounting for even less of the tax burden despite the fact that in 2009, 64.6 percent of Bernards' property taxes went toward education.

At a total cost of over $10,000 per year for the average home, the price of a high-quality education may have grown too steep for some, while remaining invaluable to others.

As was the case at the Board of Education budget meetings this winter and spring, the majority of the residents who spoke during the public comment portion of Tuesday's Township Committee meeting were in favor of minimizing cuts to school programs. Everything from the schools' standing to comparable districts to teacher contracts was discussed in the hour and ten minute hearing, leaving the Township Committee with a plethora of opinions.

What Does a No Vote Really Mean?

When considering the message a defeated budget sends to the municipal government, it is important to consider why the proposal was rejected, at least according to several of the residents who spoke on Tuesday.

Michelle Cappola of Vanderveer Drive, who was active in rallying residents to vote yes on the school budget, said, "People that voted no may have been very angry with the country, or the state of New Jersey, [but] I don't feel that they are angry with Bernards Township schools. … I think the budget may have failed and the message may be unclear."

Whether or not a no vote was symptomatic of a larger trend remains difficult to determine. Those who argue a no vote was aimed specifically at Bernards' proposal could point to the proposed 5.07 percent tax increase, which was second highest in the county behind Montgomery. On the other hand, 15 of the 17 school budget proposals were voted down in the county, and only 42 percent of budget's passed statewide – down from 73 percent in 2009, according to the Star Ledger. Two of the three lowest proposed tax increases were also voted down in Somerset. Voters rejected Hillsborough's proposed 2 percent increase, and the voters in Bound Brook rejected a budget that proposed a 0 percent tax increase.

Other residents at Tuesday's meeting speculated about whether a no vote might have been in response to the current economic climate, disappointment in cuts to special education programs or a message aimed at the teachers' union.

"The reason the budget failed may be because people don't want to pay that much more in taxes," Susan Miscia of Lyons Road said. "Some people in this town are suffering economically and do not want their taxes to go up considerably."

Sherry Nelson of Bernards Parents for Exceptional Children said that families with special needs students were not happy with the budget, which included a proposal to lay off 12 special education aids, but supported it nonetheless. "Most were very aware of this process and the risk of more cuts," Nelson said. "There was never any PEC movement to vote the budget down."

Others blamed the absence of a teacher contract–covered in Part Three of this series–as another reason voters may have been inclined to vote the budget down. Regardless of the reason, the majority of those commenting shared a concern of minimizing cuts to school programming.

How Deep Can the Cuts Go?

Bernards Superintendent Valerie Goger, and several township residents, expressed concern that cuts to the school budget could not be made without endangering the quality of education offered by the district. "Our dilemma now is that we have been able to cut everything that we believe can reasonably be cut," the superintendent said.

"Any cuts would be deep into the muscle of our district," Julie Keating of Woods End Drive said. Keating also mentioned the Blue Ribbon award for Ridge High School, as well as favorable rankings in Newsweek and the recent Forbes article that included the Bernards school district on a "Best Bang For Your Housing Buck" list as reasons why the education level at the schools should be maintained.

Denize Zangara of Ross Lane said, "I urge you guys not to cut anything," saying that ties between property values and quality of the school system would be a good reason to invest in the district.

Former Board of Education member Lisa Winter said she believes that Bernards is truly operating efficiently and at a low cost level. Bernards had the 33rd lowest cost-per-pupil numbers out of 105 similar districts according to the 2010 Comparative Spending Guide. At $12,487, the cost-per-pupil spending was also well below the state average of $13,835.

"Our town is in a difficult spot like the rest of the country," Winter said. "We're in a bad recession, a lot of people have suffered and they are very concerned about money, and I understand that. I just wanted to say that the decisions you are making about our schools now are going to have an impact long after the recession goes away."

One concern school supporters have is that if the budget is lowered, then that also lowers the amount of future budgets, since the school board is limited by law to an increase of no more than 4 percent (with some exceptions). Any reduction in the short-term will be compounded annually, especially if N.J. voters decide to move to a hard, 2.5 percent property tax cap as proposed by Governor Christie as a constitutional amendment.

With Whom is the Fight?

Christie carried Bernards Township in the 2009 gubernatorial election with 59.4 percent of the vote. The town also has an all-Republican Township Committee and voted for both Republican candidates for the state legislature in 2009.

The public response from school parents in Bernards was more evenly split in favor or against the governor's aid cuts to the school district. Cappola said, "We're not all so far apart [on the budget], it's just that how we fix the tax problem is fighting with Trenton."

"The community is upset and rightly so," said Karen Gray of Independence Drive. "We need to be directing our frustration toward the governor. Taking $5-plus million is a devastating move."

Aimee Landis of Woodman Lane disagreed. "Part of the reason I'm up here is confusion. I'm hearing a lot of us vs. Trenton, but it seems to me that the state is having a lot of financial problems," Landis said. "It doesn't seem to be that we can't make cuts."

This is the second in a four-part series exploring the events surrounding the defeat of the school budget at the polls on April 20. The decisions of the township committee and Board of Education will set the school property tax levy for township residents and also determine the amount of cuts that will be needed to create a balanced school budget. Click here to read the first, third and fourth parts of the series.