Middletown School Board Approves '23-'24 Budget, With Some Controversy

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — On Tuesday night, the Middletown school board passed a $181-million budget for next year's school year — but not without some controversy, and two board members voting against it.

The two board members who did not vote to approve the budget were Harmony Heffernan and Joe Fitzgerald.

"I'm on the finance committee, so I was being updated on the budget as it went along and I was happy with it until I wasn't," said Heffernan Wednesday. "I just feel like Middletown is a little top heavy with administration and I want my vote to reflect what I think."

The 2023-'24 budget will come with a two-percent property tax increase for all Middletown homeowners, which will bring in an additional $3 million for the school district. You can see an entire breakdown of the 2023-'24 budget here, provided by Middletown school district business administrator Amy Doherty. It is the job of a business administrator to prepare the budget.

School budgets are usually a big deal in New Jersey, especially in large, wealthy suburban districts such as Middletown. That's because schools have hundreds of millions of dollars to work with, largely funded by local taxpayers.

Included in that budget is the hiring of three new "academic interventionists" — a controversial decision met with pushback from some parents.

Two Middletown fathers stood up and directly questioned the district for creating these three new positions.

"Why are we giving more supervisor positions? We can't give kids transportation, but we can give new jobs?" said Middletown father Alan Burns. (He is referring to the hot-button issue of whether or not the district will continue to provide a school bus for Port Monmouth kids. More on that below.)

As to why he voted no, Fitzgerald touched on the Port Monmouth busing situation, too:

"As a member of this district's Board, I cannot in good conscience approve a two percent budget raise for our hardworking taxpayers when we are still struggling to meet the core functions of our district, such as busing," said Fitzgerald. "While I believe that our administration has done an excellent job in putting this budget together, we must face some tough decisions in the coming years, such as redistricting some schools to alleviate the strain on resources and busing."

"Although I initially agreed to the tentative budget, I had hoped that these issues would have been addressed," he added. "We must prioritize the needs of our students and ensure that they have access to safe and reliable transportation to and from school."

Similar to Heffernan, Board member Joan Minnuies also criticized the district for having too many of what she called "supervisors."

"As I said in the last meeting, I am not supporting needing more supervisors. I don't think we need two more supervisors. I want my comments on the record," she said Tuesday night.

Minnuies voted to approve the budget, but her comments are an echo of what she said last month, when she said Middletown schools need to cut administrative positions — not create new ones.

"Our teachers need more hands-on help in the classroom. I don't think they need more people to supervise them," Minnuies said at the March meeting.

School board vice president Jacqueline Tobacco, who voted to approve the budget, stressed that these three new hires are not administration positions; they are "interventionist positions for students who are struggling" and will work directly with students.

Two interventionists will be at the high school level; the third will be at the elementary level.

The district will use $217,769 in rollover Supplemental Stabilization Aid it received last year to pay for the three new positions.

"The district is not adding new administrator positions," superintendent Mary Ellen Walker told Patch Wednesday, the day after the meeting. "We are using the (Supplemental Stabilization Aid) funds for three interventionists, which are teachers who work directly with students in one-on-one or small group settings. They provide personalized instruction to students who need additional support."

Board president Frank Capone, who also voted to approve the budget, then released these fighting words against his fellow board members:

"We are very proud to present a budget that invests in our students as they continue to deal with the learning loss due to COVID-19 closures as well as mental health support for children most in need, and state-of-the-art recreational facilities. This is all being done while ensuring we put forth a fiscally responsible budget. Every member is entitled to an equal vote, but it’s unfortunate to see some members who did not take part in any budget conversations cast doubt on a plan they never read."

The Port Monmouth busing issue

The Middletown school district intends to keep providing a bus for the children who live in Port Monmouth. The district was only supposed to provide the bus for three years after it closed Port Monmouth Elementary.

Tobacco said the Port Monmouth bus will be on the voting agenda at the next BOE meeting on May 15; both Capone and Tobacco said they want to keep the Port Monmouth bus route for next year.

"The Port Monmouth bus route has been reinstated and will be on next month's agenda for the '23/'24 school year, along with the rest of the routes for the district," said Capone.

The next Middletown school board meeting is May 15 (the rehire meeting), followed by a meeting May 23 (workshop/voting meeting). Patch will report on both meetings.

You can watch the April 25 Middletown school board meeting here: