Moorestown Schools Expect $300K Loss Due To Coronavirus

MOORESTOWN, NJ — The outbreak of new coronavirus is beginning to take its toll on the Moorestown Public School District, which has already lost more than $144,000 in revenue through April 20 and is expected to lose about $300,000 in revenue by Memorial Day.

These numbers came to light during the Board of Education’s virtual meeting Tuesday night, prior to the board passing its budget for the 2020-21 school year.

The average Moorestown homeowner will pay an extra $124.53 in school taxes annually after the Board of Education adopted its proposed $75,656,895 budget Tuesday night.

The Board of Education adopted the budget, which carries a 2.39 percent tax rate increase, with an 8-1 vote. The budget includes layoffs of 16 staff members, and introduces fees for students to play sports and park their cars.

Board Member Mark Villanueva cast the dissenting vote, citing the layoffs and an inattention to security as his deciding factors.

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The budget calls for the layoffs of two certificated staff members and 14 para professionals. That number is down from 19 that was discussed during the budget workshop.

Superintendent Scott McCartney said those dollar amounts have been removed from the budget, although some of that is attributed to retiring staff members who won’t be replaced. One certificated staff member can be brought back due to an unexpected resignation, he added.

“It’s still troubling, but it’s not a surprise to me,” said Villanueva, adding that the district agreed to a teacher’s contract it couldn’t afford.

He pointed out that $930,000 of the $26 million proposal that was defeated in December’s special election was earmarked for security, but no security proposals were included in this budget.

“Those security measures were only for updates and upgrades,” McCartney said, adding that the district is pursuing state grants for additional new needed security measures.

Despite the staff reductions, the budget includes salary increases of $714,962 and increases of $390,971 in benefits.

The fees for playing sports and parking weren't mentioned in the discussion, but Board President Sandra Alberti said more information would come at a later date. McCartney said these are items the board approved eight years ago, but never acted on.

“This was not a decision we take joy in making,” Board President Sandra Alberti said.

“We don’t want to ask the community for more, but we also don’t want to take any services away,” McCartney said.

State aid was increased by $351,641, but revenues are down $144,911. The Moorestown Public School District relies heavily on money from third parties, including rental of facilities. The district is heading into the time of year when rental of facilities is a huge source of revenue, and no one is renting because the state is shut down due to the outbreak of new coronavirus.

The district is hoping to offset its losses, but it’s losing wiggle room. It can’t amend its transportation contracts, and recently enacted legislation mandates that the district pay the transportation companies even when services aren’t being provided.

The district stopped taking payments for full-day kindergarten because there is no curriculum right now, and they’ve seen an increase in applications for free and reduced lunch.

When budget discussions first began, the district was $5.4 million over budget. They were able to get that number down to $2.4 million in the middle of February, and have had to continue to make cuts. They had to begin reducing items out of the budget, including the staff reductions.

See related: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know