Oct 21, Bd of Ed meeting re: consolidation

[guest2008]

On October 21, 7 PM there will be a Board of Education meeting in the Large Group Room of the Cranbury School. Dr. Patrick Piegari, Middlesex County Executive Superintendent will discuss the subject of district consolidation.
This information came from the Cranbury School's internet site.

[Guest]

[link]

Here is the link:

http://portal.cranburyschool.org/boe/Lists/Calendar/DispForm.aspx?ID=16&Source=http%3A%2F%2Fportal.cranburyschool.org%2Fboe%2Fdefault.aspx

[The Sentinel]

Looks like we might be facing consolidation. Corzine's plan is to bankrupt our town with COAH all to force our school to consolidate. Maybe builders remedy would not be so bad. Wouldn't cost us millions to build and we can keep from consolidating by using our tax money by building up our school. See the article below:

Talks Begin on Merging Three School Districts
May 16, 2008
County super to review options for Spotswood, Milltown, Helmetta

School officials in Spotswood, Milltown and Helmetta will explore the possibility of consolidating their school districts in the coming years.

The discussion comes as the state has assigned each county's executive school superintendent to develop proposals to merge school districts and services. The idea is to make all districts K-12 systems, thus doing away with those that send all or some regular education students to other districts.

Spotswood Board of Education President Rich O'Brien said his school district has corresponded with Middlesex County Executive Superintendent of Schools Patrick Piegari on the idea of consolidation. Spotswood currently educates all of Helmetta's students and Milltown's high school students on a tuition basis.

O'Brien said the state is pressing for consolidation in an effort to save taxpayers money on duplicate costs and positions. He said cost savings are possible as the result of a merger, but there are also risks and potential costs increases involved with such an undertaking.

"Governor Corzine and the Legislature are obviously looking to save taxpayer dollars. We are unsure how much money, if any, will be saved through consolidation, but our position is to make certain that it is not done at the expense of our students' education," O'Brien said.

Helmetta School Business Administrator Brian Savage said he and that borough's Board of Education president are expecting to meet with Piegari over the next month so that he could gain a better understanding of the community and its school program.

"It's a preliminary meeting to discuss the overall parameters," Savage said, adding that Piegari "wants to get a feel for the community." The meeting date had yet to be set as of Friday, but Savage said it would take place in Helmetta.

School officials in Milltown did not return phone calls for this story, but their Board of Education was expected to discuss the issue this week.

Frank Belluscio III, director of communications for the New Jersey School Boards Association, said the discussions are the result of legislation approved last year and signed in April that established the position of county executive superintendent of schools, a post that holds greater authority than the prior county school superintendents. He said one responsibility of each new county official is to develop proposals, by March 2010, for configuring all school districts into K-12 systems.

The regionalization and shared service proposals will come after studies are completed regarding financial, tax and curriculum issues. Also, a task force is to be formed in each county to assist and advise the executive superintendents, Belluscio said. These panels are to include at least one representative from each school district.


Ultimately, any reconfiguring of school districts would only come about if approved by a majority of voters in each community, via a referendum, Belluscio said, citing the legislation.


O'Brien said a district like Helmetta is being targeted by the state because it is a non-operating district, meaning it has no schools and all public school students are sent to another district, Spotswood. Helmetta does employ part-time administrators and elects a three-member school board. In addition, a district like Milltown is being targeted because it only has schools for students in grades K-8.


O'Brien said he considers Spotswood fortunate to have partners such as Milltown and Helmetta, and that the school district operates in an economically sound fashion without consolidation.
"We already have administrators with more than one duty," he said, adding that the district also uses interlocal agreements with the borough and enters purchasing agreements with other school districts.


"I think we operate the district as economically sound as we can, and we avoid redundancy," O'Brien said.


The board, he said, is "taking a wait and see approach" to the consolidation issue.


It is possible for savings to be derived from combining duplicate areas like payroll systems, attendance systems and food service programs, he said.

"Redundant administrative positions could be eliminated, but all of those savings and more could be wiped out when you consider that Spotswood may be burdened with a busing cost we currently don't have," O'Brien said. "And the cost of transportation is only going up."

He said Piegari has indicated to local school officials that any eventual proposal he presents must be both educationally sound and fiscally responsible.

"We look forward to working with him to ensure the plan meets those criteria," O'Brien said. "And we will work to keep all our students, parents and other taxpayers informed all along the way."

The Sentinel
by Vincent Todaro & Brian Donahue - Staff Writers

http://www.milltownvoice.com/news.htm

[Cranbury Conservative]

So we are looking at attacks on multiple fronts from Assembly Speaker Roberts and Governor Corzine.

First:
Roberts Affordable Housing legislation combined with COAH's rules

Second:
Speaker Roberts Municipal Consolidation Plan

Third:
Speaker Roberts School Consolidation Plan

Bottom line they want to destroy towns like ours.

Here is the press release from Speaker Roberts Office concerning as they put it "Let the county negotiate teachers contracts"

http://njasa.net/70179332134659/lib/70179332134659/prroberts042108.pdf

[Guest]

The only way around this is to vote the Dems out. It's simple and easy. We did it under Florio and we can revolt again. It is a Dem attack on our town, it is a Dem attack on the state finances.

A builders remedy would mean at min. 1,400 new homes. We have 1,200 now. So Cranbury is gone. Plus, 1,400 new homes with an average of 1.5 kids means an increase of 2,100 kids. At 15,000 a pop to educate them our town could not afford a builders remedy. My 8K property taxes would be 15K plus in that scenario. In which case, I'm moving to WW because they will seem cheap compared to Cranbury.

[Guest]

[Guest]

All I can say - With facing the daunting fiscal problems ahead of Cranbury - we should be thinking of setting up a financial committee. This would be a voluntary community committee and being advisory only to help the TC with ideas concerning funding and expenditures. We have so many qualified fiancial experts living in our town, we should take advantage of it.

I know many people feel, "Oh NO, Not another committee". However, these other committees mainly deal with where to spend the money (they have their hand out for more) and a financial committee can accurately view the financial outlook and make fiscally responsible recommendations. It would definately help with issues concerning COAH, library, and school expansion. Especially since last night meeting, it was stated that COAH could bankrupt our town.

[Cranbury Conservative]

I have to ask, has there been one policy in recent memory that has come out of Trenton that is helping us here in Cranbury or suburban communites in New Jersey?

[Guest]

Or better yet, we encourage people with financial backgrounds to run for office. That way those people making the decisions understand debt ratios, cost structures, process planning, and efficiencies.

I do believe the current TC is doing the best they can. However, just as I wouldn't hire an accountant to fix my car or a mechanic to do my taxes, I don't think the TC at this time should be devoid of finance oriented people. It's not a personal attack by any means, because I honestly believe they are doing what they feel is best and based on their knowledge. It's just that their skill set is not right for the issues they are dealing with today. So it leaves people angry and upset at the way the TC is running things. For example, when faced with bankruptcy you don't go buying a new home. When a town is faced with bankruptcy we don't go building a new library.

[Guest]

[my view]

[Guest]

[my view]

[Guest]

[Guest]

I disagree with the idea of an advisory committee.

1) I don't believe in non-elected officals having stronger input over spending then any other non-elected resident.

2) The committee will be people appointed by the TC. Just look at how the TC controlled who could join the COAH group.

3) The TC will still have final say regardless of what the committee says. so here is limited value.

4)We have too many committees and consultants already.

5) The attorney reference is not comparable. Representing a town's legal interests requires a different understanding than corporate or insurance law. Also a TC cannot legally act as counsel.

The solution is simple. Elect people who understand finances and are cost sensitive. It is no more complicated then that.