Board OK's Budget With no Tax Increase, Spares Vocational Ed.

The Belleville Board of Education tonight approved a budget proposal that calls for no tax increase and saves the popular vocational program from what would have been a potential $302,000 reduction in funds. Audience members, including several vocational students, broke into applause when the board finished its brief budget presentation.

The 2011-12 budget goes before the voters April 27.

The $59 million spending plan, however, also calls for the elimination of 11 jobs, including three classroom positions, two jobs in administration and some support positions. There will also be “minimal” reductions in activities and athletics, but no reductions in academic programs, said Superintendent Joseph Picardo.

Speaking to the large audience gathered at the library of Belleville High School, Picardo declined to identify which specific staff members would lose their jobs.

“It wouldn’t be fair ….. until we’ve had the chance to sit down and speak with them,” Picardo said.

Officials later said, however, that if expenses are lower than estimated, some or all of those positions may be spared.  

The total amount to be raised through local property taxes is $32,959,663, the same amount as last year. This is partly thanks to a net increase in state aid of $578,728, and also because expenses proved to be less than thought a few weeks ago. During an earlier budget meeting, business administrator Edward Appleton said he over-estimated the costs of insurance.

Retirements have also helped with this year’s budget, officials said. Teachers with decades in the district  -- and correspondingly high salaries -- are being replaced by new teachers who earn far less.

The lower-than-expected insurance costs allowed the board to restore funds to the vocational education program that had been taken out when a preliminary budget was discussed earlier this month. Originally, the board had not called for the program to be cut, but they had planned to ask voters to approve a separate referendum question earmarking $302,000 for vocational education. Voters in Belleville historically have tended to reject additional spending questions like the one that had been proposed.

The district is also using its fund balance, a kind of reserve account, to avoid raising taxes. About $700,000 has been taken out of the fund balance and used for school district operations, leaving just $61,000. The fund balance can be used for emergency expenditures or unforeseen circumstances.

There were some complaints about how the budget was put together. During public comments, resident Vincent Frantantoni noted the board had presented the public with summaries of the budget instead of detailed breakdowns, as was the practice in years past. Frantantoni asked the board to provide more information on specific items, like changes in teachers salaries, in next year’s budget.

For the most part, however, speakers praised the board for putting forth a spending plan that calls for no increase in the overall tax levy while keeping the funds for vocational education in place. Frantantoni commended the board for overseeing “among the few districts in New Jersey” not to carry any debt. Ralph Vellon, a candidate in this year’s board of education race, also thanked the board for restoring vocational funding.