By Cheryl Conway
Not all members are on board for the preliminary budget introduced at the last Mt. Olive Board of Education meeting.
Two actually jumped off the spending track that carries a $203 annual increase in school taxes for the average property in Mt. Olive.
The BOE voted 7-2 to approve the 2021-2022 tentative budget at the March 22 meeting held at the Mt. Olive Middle School in Budd Lake. Board members Dr. Antoine Gayles and Elizabeth Ouimet voted against the $104.6 million total base spending package.
The total operating budget for 2020-2021, generated on April 29, 2020, was $93.6 million.
More than 40 people, mostly parents, attended the meeting that ran more than four hours. Hot topics taken away from the evening included the budget; vandalism report; curriculum updates that steer more students to engage in AP courses with less offerings at the honors’ level; and request for more transparency on personnel agenda items so BOE members can be informed on what they are voting on.
The BOE meeting can be viewed in its entirety by going to https://www.youtube.com/MtOliveTelevision
The last meeting was held on the evening that all students returned to school for a traditional day with social distancing after a year-long pandemic disrupted normal operations within the Mt. Olive School District.
“Things went swimmingly today,” says Mt. Olive Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Zywicki at the beginning of his report. “It was great to see our kids back in school today.” He shared the optimism of one Chester M. Stephen’s Elementary student who said: “Everything is better when I’m back at school with all my friends.”
Zywicki continued his report by introducing the proposed 2021-2022 Mt. Olive School District budget. He mentions the six goals that drive the budget for the district’s strategic plan.
Last year the district switched to Zero Based Budgeting which requires the reconstruction of the budget every year.
It is a “tremendous amount of work to reconstitute the budget every year,” says Zywicki. Work on the spending package begins in November, with meetings through February by the budget committee. In March, the district receives information from the state on funding. The preliminary budget then goes to the Morris County Executive Superintendent for approval.
On Monday April 26, a public hearing will be held to discuss the proposed budget.
Budget Details
The proposed budget carries a Total Base of $104,568,998. That breaks down to a General Fund of $98,077,195; Special Revenue Fund: $2,066,403; Debt Service Fund: $4,515,400. The proposed 2021-2022 budget results in a General Fund tax levy of $71,382,059 (inclusive of an enrollment adjustment of $638,308) and a Debt Service tax levy of $3,993,145.
According to Zywicki, the school tax levy increase would be 2.92 percent. He explains the increase is from 44 additional students that moved into Mt. Olive School District last year.
“People are being drawn to Mt. Olive leading to an increase in costs,” he says.
He also shares that 80 percent of the budget’s operating costs is related to personnel; zero increase in health benefits.
State aid increased to $3.9 million but the district receives just 72 percent
“of what we are supposed to be funded at,” he says.
Pleased with the proposed package, Zywicki says “credit goes to this board who for all these years made decisions and was really good with their tax dollars and put forth this fantastic product despite the fact that we’ve not been funded fully with state aid in the past 20 years.”
The proposed school budget carries a tax increase of $12.74 per month, or 2.3 percent, for the average homeowner, says Zywicki. The price for the average home in Mt. Olive has increased by $2,000, he adds.
In 2020, the average assessed value for a home in Mt. Olive was $320,800; in 2021, the average home is now $322,000. This translates to a jump in the annual school tax rate of $7,234.04, for the averaged assessed home, in 2020 to $7,437.32 in 2021.
What Drives The Budget?
“Big ticket items” in the budget has been a priority on safety in the past, says Zywicki.
This year, the MOSD is reloading on curriculum, new technology, new pedagogies, and new learning spaces, he explains.
New curriculum materials and textbooks will cost $1.2 million; K-8 science program; K-5 social studies program; K-5 writing workshop; new bus lease of $248K; and new Chromebooks for K-5 totaling $71K.
Some additional personnel positions are being created. A new $55K position for a Dean of Students to manage the extended school year of the Mt. Olive Success Academy will be added. Instead of depending on site managers and the stipends allocated to them, the Dean of Students will be in charge of administrating those programs before and after hours, explains Zywicki.
Other new positions included a Mt. Olive Middle School guidance counselor of $65K; a new computer science teacher for $65K; three special education positions totaling $194K; K-12 Music and Performing Arts Department chair for $10K; and two building and grounds positions for $124K.
Concerns
Some board members are opposed to the increased tax levy in the proposed school spending package.
“We are coming out of a pandemic and our community is still recovering,” says BOE Member Dr. Antoine Gayles. “Our residents, who knows what their financial situation is? With nearly four million dollars in additional state aid, why are we using bank cap for a third year in a row as opposed to budgeting within our needs?”
Zywicki responds by saying “I would suggest it is within our means because we are educating the students so otherwise we’d have to then cut other areas of the budget to have to make up for that amount. Those students are here and there are more students moving in.”
He explains that although there is an increase in state aid, that just covers the fixed cost of contracts that have been negotiated by the BOE, particularly the teachers’ contracts, so there is not extra money from the state aid. In addition, he says last year the school district did not receive a full allotment of the state aid and therefore postponed capital projects.
“So last year we forwent a whole bunch of things because of the decrease in state aid; so that marginal adjustment aid is because we have more kids moving into the district and we are serving them,” says Zywicki.
“And we need 11 new positions?” questions Gayles. “We need them? We have to have them or we will not survive? We need department chairs? We need a new one; we need all of this to justify an increase in levy to parents?”
Zywicki responds, “That was the recommendation and was supported by committee. If you want to maintain; three years ago this district was ranked 90, 88 [in the state]. We are now ranked number 31 and we are providing tremendous services to the students. Could we survive without those positions? Yes, but then you lose things like Mt. Olive Success Academy; going to lose the Aspire Program. It’s going to be services that kids are now experiencing. We would lose those services, so surely we can go back and do that but parents are not going to be getting the same product that they are receiving now or better.”
BOE Member Liz Ouimet says that if there is an increase in computer science and social studies courses then there is usually a decrease in something else.
“What is there a decrease in since students are going for the computer science and social studies?” asks Ouimet. “Usually in the past we always did readjust,” she says, because of the worry about teachers affected as there would not be as many sections to cover.
“I’m not comfortable especially with the increase,” says Ouimet. “There’s many people without jobs; there’s people at the food pantry and we’re increasing. I think a better lens should’ve been used to look at this.”
Zywicki says “We can run an analysis to see where they are coming from. There’s more of a shift to computer sciences. The kids are enrolling in these programs. They are not taking as many study halls.”
Ouimet questions the $10K stipends to music and performing arts. “Aren’t their stipends already there?”
Zywicki responds that the $10K stipends cover the “robust level of our award winning music and performing arts programs,” and to take on extra administrative duties such as scheduling, running the totality of the program like going to Carnegie Hall, evaluations.
As far as the $71K in Chromebooks for students in grades K-5, Ouimet questions whether the teachers are getting the best equipment.
Zywicki specifies how teachers in different departments get different technology to meet their needs. The desktops that were used in the art, photography and music departments at the high school have been replaced with Mac computers, he says, “to enhance the experience of the students.”
BOE Member Christopher Zeier questions the staffing of two new Buildings and Grounds positions totaling $124K.
“I also have a problem in the tax levy as well,” says Zeier. “How much are we spending in overtime now?”
Zywicki explains that overtime costs in maintaining the high school dome, alone, has resulted in $40K to $60K a year.
MOSD Business Administrator Gail Libby clarifies that one of the those positions is for an HVAC position to avoid hiring outside vendors to take care of HVAC issues in the district.
Despite the criticisms, BOE President Dr. Anthony Giordano is pleased with the proposed package.
His one inquiry is whether the Mt. Olive Middle School principal and vice principal can get their salaries bumped to 12 months verses the 10 months they receive, in lieu of the stipends they get during the summer months.
Ouimet asks what the additional duties would be of these two administrators during the two summer months.
Besides that, the budget gets a thumbs up by Giordano.
“It’s not easy,” he admits. “Great job” by the budget committee, central office administrators. Each year it’s tough. We are extremely mindful of tax dollars we are spending; why Mt. Olive creates such a great product.”
As a 14-year BOE member, Giordano says “It used to be embarrassing,” in 2001-2006, with “nightmare stories,” rooms they used to teach in for special education classes, lack of materials. “At one point, K-5 schools had next to nothing curriculum; it was kind of all over the place.
“Over the years, this board has made an effort to extend that tax dollar,” says Giordano. “Unfortunately, this system to fund education is archaic; it’s on the back of property tax owners. We are mindful of tax dollars but we also want to present the best product, the most efficient and thorough product that we can.”
