Schools Prepared if Sequester Hinders Budget

A looming sequester could hamper funding for education in a major way across the country, but locally, Hackettstown has already prepared for the possible reduction in financial aid.

Hackettstown Public Schools Business Administrator and Board of Education Secretary Teresa Barna said the district, while the decision of the sequester is still unknown, has been preparing in advance to budget without the aid if necessary.

“School districts have been made aware of potential reductions in federal far in advance of the recent news,” Barna said.

Federal aid, however, is not part of the general fund budget, Barna said.

What Barna and the district are concerned about is the impact federal entitlement grants will have, like No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which are used to help fund district programs.  

“Possible reductions to these grants have been taken into consideration in preparing the 2013-14 budget,” Barna said.

In NCLB grants, school districts have been seeing a reduction over the past several years, Barna said, and the general fund of the budget has had to absorb the impact of lost federal money.

The Hackettstown Board of Education has been working on the 2013-14 spending plan, which is due to the county in early March. It will become public, Barna said, once it is approved by the county superintendent.

The next meeting of the school board is scheduled for 7 p.m. on March 27 at Hackettstown High School.