School Budget Set for Adoption

The numbers have been crunched, and the task of filling a $3.9 million in the Bernards school district budget will enter its final phase with the last public hearing on the budget, Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Oak Street School auditorium.

Over 100 residents came out to the budget hearing on March 24, expressing their concerns over a long list of that could beset the district.

The Board of Education must adopt a budget to present to voters for the April 20 school elections. The most recent predictions were for a combination of program cuts and property tax increases, likely between 4 and 6 percent at a cost of $293 to $356 more per household.

The Board will also consider switching from a nine-period day to eight periods at Ridge High School or cutting the kindergarten program to half-day only. The public in attendance at the March 24 meeting strongly opposed both ideas, which could net a total savings of $760,000 a year for the district, according to numbers presented by the Board of Education.

The district also faces a steep funding cliff for the 2011-12 budget as surpluses are depleted. Lou Carlucci, finance chair on the Board of Education, said that the district could increase taxes to build a surplus base for the following school year to help offset some of the predicted gap. Carlucci also said that Board's position will be to try to strike a balance between tax increases and program cuts that the public will fund acceptable.

Wednesday's public hearing will begin with a presentation on the proposed budget, followed by a public forum on the proposal, where residents can state their comments, opinions and concerns. The Board will then hold their own forum before voting to adopt the budget.

For more on the budget, see previous Basking Ridge Patch coverage:

• How Are Other NJ School Districts Coping? March 27