BOE Unveils $55.1 million 2011-2012 Budget, Faces Staff Reductions and Restructuring

The Fort Lee Board of Education moved its regular business meeting Monday evening to the School No. 1 gymnasium to accommodate the large crowd that turned out for the unveiling of the 2011-2012 budget upon which Fort Lee voters will have the ultimate say on April 27.

The total 2011-2012 budget is about $55.1 million, an increase of $2.1 million over the current school year.

The result of the state’s new 2 percent tax levy cap is a loss of $1 million in tax levy revenue, said board secretary and treasurer Cheryl Balletto, who presented the budget. The budget as proposed would therefore raise taxes 2 percent, or an annual increase of $83 on a home assessed at $500,000.

Balletto said the majority of the district’s revenue, or about $51.25 million comes from the tax levy.

“So as our expenditures are still going up more than two percent, our main source of revenue now can only go up one percent,” she said.

She also said that state aid, which increased from last year, didn’t increase nearly enough.

“We still have reduced state aid,” Balletto said. “Yes, we did get an extra $560,000, but we used to receive $3.2 million. Even with the additional [$560,000], we are only receiving $951,000. We are still short from the state $2million.”

With the tax levy capped at 2 percent and state aid about $2million short, the result is a budget shortfall of about $870,000, Balletto reported.

In order to close that budget gap, the board proposed administrative restructuring in the district, restructuring of paraprofessionals and a wage freeze for Balletto, Superintendent Raymond Bandlow and Assistant Superintendent Steven Engravalle, among other measures.

It also calls for a reduction in professional development expenditures and a reduction of two high school teachers.

“We are going to make a reduction in staff,” Bandlow said. “We will not be filling one of the positions that is open now and we’ll be altering some other positions; perhaps replacing several positions with a couple of others. There’s still a great deal to work out with this, and the parties have not been notified yet. We’ve not made final decisions about it, and so we can’t really give more detail tonight.”

A “capital outlay budget” of $386,000 will go toward restructuring central office space into classrooms in order to bring special education children back to the district.

“We’re still dealing with overcrowding issues [after December’s referendum was voted down],” Balletto said. “The administration will end up having to rent office space somewhere in Fort Lee.”

The school district has what it calls a “user friendly” version of the budget posted on it’s website.

The budget vote and school board candidate election is April 27.