By ROBERT LINNEHAN
The Evesham K-8 Board of Education will look to pass its preliminary budget this Thursday, March 3, at the DeMasi Middle School cafeteria at 7 p.m. The members of the board will discuss the introduction of the 2011–2012 budget and other possible financial issues.
This past week the board met for its regularly scheduled meeting and discussed the district receiving an increase of $718,000 in state aid. Gov. Christie revealed last week during his yearly budget address that he would be proposing that each school district in the state receive an increase.
The state aid totals will jump to $12,230,498 for the K-8 district.
The Lenape Regional School District will see its aid jump by almost $1.3 million for 2011–2012, for a total of $25.8 million.
Gov. Christie presented his annual budget address for the fiscal year of 2012 and stated that school aid would increase by $250 million for next year. Last year Christie drastically cut school aid for most districts in the state.
“Today, because of the hard and necessary choices we have made, I am pleased to report we are able to provide an increase of $250 million in school aid,” he said. “This will allow every district in the state to receive increased aid.”
Last year the Evesham K-8 School district had its state aid cut by $3.6 million. In his earlier budget predictions Superintendent John Scavelli Jr. said the district was assuming that state aid would remain flat for 2011–2012.
Christie also on and said that it should be the state’s goal to reform education in New Jersey.
“We need to reward excellent teachers, put an end to automatic tenure, and give parents trapped in failing schools a choice for a better future for their children. Once and for all, we must reward excellence and there must be consequences for failure. This is the way it is all across America — we must finally bring it to all of New Jersey’s classroom,” he said.
LRHSD Business Administrator and Board Secretary James Hager said, while it’s still early, the district is glad to see an increase in aid.
“It’s kind of early, but we’re encouraged by it,” Hager said. “It’s nice to have an increase rather than a $6 million decrease, as we did last year. We’ll be meeting with Board members and we’re proceeding to put together our budget.”
School district’s 2011–12 budgets are due to the county superintendent’s office on March 4.
