Barnegat Board of Education Approves Job Reductions, Changes for 2013-2014 Year

Dozens of parents, students, teachers and Barnegat district support staff packed the Barnegat High School auditorium last night and spoke out for more than three hours against proposed job cuts in the budget next year, but the board ultimately voted to approve most of the job changes.

One of the positions that was slated to be cut - a secretarial position - was actually maintained after the vote taken last night, because the motion lacked enough votes to carry to eliminate the position.

At the March 21 meeting, the Board of Education introduced a $47,743,685 budget for the 2013-2014 school year, which called for a reduction of 24 positions and reducing hours for an additional 35 employees, at a savings of $1,089,701.  Despite these savings, the budget calls for a school tax increase of $72.39 per year increase for the owner of a home assessed at the township average of $300,000. 

Louis Balka, who is the president of the Barnegat Education Association, detailed several changes in recent years to the teachers' contracts, including increasing deductibles in health insurance, a switch to a state employee benefit plan, a reduction in eight school bus drivers, and, still, he said, "that wasn't enough." 

"Last spring they said they would move $467,533 and return it to the taxpayer, to save them $52 a year, or a cup of coffee a week and I'm looking at this audience and I don't think they are interested in a cup of coffee a week, I think they are interested in their children's education," Balka said, to thunderous applause. "Even more troubling, when this high school opened, this community was promised this school would offer even more than Southern, and I think with this budget, it's hard to believe you can deliver on that promise."

Balka said he believed the board should have exceeded the 2% cap and put the budget issue out to the public to vote. 

"I don't approve of this year's budget," Balka continued. "I believe you shortchanged our students, our community, and my membership."

Several residents, including Kelly Stawicki questioned the cuts, and took aim at a comment by some board members that class size may also increase.

"Class size makes a difference, if they are the ones teaching, that should be the bottom line," Salewick said. "In a report done by ... New York State, it showed a growing body of research indicates class size has a direct impact on learning …reducing class size to 18 students can improve student achievement."

Board President Alice Olker responded that the board is in a "tenuous situation economically. We are struggling to offer the best we can … the people who work in our school district, Mrs. Wood, Mrs. [Lourdes] Laguardia, Mr. [Anthony] Scotto, spent countless hours trying to put the budget together ..that doesn't mean there was no damage … If we further increase the taxes they will become even higher, we have an untenable situation, we are trying to do the best we can."

Board officials blamed debt service assessments for many of their financial woes, noting that the "undisclosed fee issued to the school by the Schools Development Authority for grants the districts received," caused many of the problems. 

"This was free money that Barnegat got..that the governor decided technically it was a loan," one board member said.