Brick School Board Delays Action On Tentative Budget

The Brick Township Board of Education will be holding a special meeting at some point in the coming days to discuss and vote on a tentative budget for the 2015-16 school year -- a document that was supposed to be submitted to the Ocean County superintendent Friday.

The special meeting became necessary when what was apparently a miscommunication between business administrator and Board Secretary James Edwards and the members of the board’s finance committee -- Board President Sharon Cantillo, Karen Cusanelli and Michael Conti -- resulted in the board members present abstaining from voting on it at Thursday’s school board meeting. Board vice president John Talty and member Frank Pannucci both were absent.

“What am I supposed to do, Jack,” Edwards asked Jack Sahradnik, the board’s attorney. ”I have to turn this in tomorrow.” Sahradnik told him to contact the county superintendent and inform him that the budget was not approved, and to schedule a special meeting as soon as possible.

The miscommunication centered on the amount of increase in the tax levy. The tentative budget put before the board Thursday night would increase the taxy levy by 1.8 percent -- below the state-mandated 2 percent cap -- but Cusanelli and Cantillo questioned the number, saying they thought the number they had been working with was a percentage increase of 0.9 percent.

Edwards said the 0.9 percent they understood reflected only the change in the general operating budget tax levy -- not the total tax levy, which reflects both the general operating budget and debt service. Edwards apologized for the confusion, but told the board that it has no control over the debt service, because that is repayment of debt from years passed.

“You can’t vote on that,” Edwards told the board.

“So you’re telling us that no matter what, the tax levy is going up by 0.9 percent?” board member Susan Suter asked, to which Edwards said yes.

The district owes more than $16 million in bonds for past projects, he said.

The tentative budget that was on the agenda Thursday night called for a total of $147,703,870, with $100,879,324 to be raised by taxes. Suter asked what the impact would be for the average homeowner, and Edwards said it would be an increase of $50 per year.

Frustration over the budget process and some friction between the board and Edwards also surfaced, as Cusanelli questioned documentation presented on the agenda regarding some expenditures, and complained about a delay in receiving information. Edwards responded angrily, but Cusanelli curtailed her remarks when the discussion threatened to escalate into an argument.

By law, public notice of a meeting must be published a minimum of 48 hours prior to the meeting. The district’s full budget hearing is tentatively scheduled for April 30.