Public Can Give Input On Wayne School Budget Next Month

WAYNE, NJ - The first of two special input sessions on the 2016-17 school district budget will be held Feb. 18 during the Board of Education’s meeting.

Implementing full-day kindergarten next school year is the most pressing issue district administrators and the board this budget cycle. More than $2.1 million is needed to implement the program. Officials have already made it known that budget cuts will be necessary to implement the program in all nine elementary schools.

Wayne is the only district in Passaic County not to offer full-day kindergarten.

The estimated maximum the tax levy, the portion of the budget funded by local taxes, could be for next school year’s budget is $143.2 million. The levy is exceeding that amount by about $10.2 million, officials said last week.

Almost $6.4 million in possible reductions have already been proposed, including $2 million in capital equipment purchases and projects, $1 million in “general” budget reductions, and a savings of $500,000 in salaries due to retirements.

Other possible reductions include reducing the number of administrators and reinstituting activity fees.

The meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the town hall council chambers and broadcast live online and on cable channel 77.

Related: Board Of Education Approves Full-Day Kindergarten For September

Related: Wayne Students, Parents, Blast School Officials Over Impending Cuts