By ROBERT LINNEHAN | The Voorhees Sun
Until New Jersey releases its state aid figures, the Voorhees K-8 School District will not have a clear picture of its 2010–11 school year budget or its tax rate, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Frank T. DeBerardinis said.
The state aid figures most likely won’t be available until early March, he said, and district representatives are doing their best to keep the tax rate down for township residents.
The budget is crafted all year round, DeBerardinis said, but without the state aid numbers Voorhees can’t get a clear picture of how 2010–11 will shake out.
The Camden County Superintendent of Schools requested that the district craft several different budgets, DeBerardinis said.
The district has already crafted a budget with a zero percent increase in state aid, and three others with a five, 10, and 15 percent decrease in aid.
Also, without the state aid numbers the district can’t predict the budget’s impact on the local tax rate, he said. Last year the school district received $6.4 million in state aid.
“The tax rate, it’s tough to tell right now. We’re going to keep it as low as possible for our taxpayers,” DeBerardinis said. “With the state of the economy, we know we have to try and keep it down. I need to see those state aid figures before we are able to get a good estimate.”
DeBerardinis said the 2010–11 budget would increase slightly over last year’s. The predicted budget is about $51.95 million, expanded from the 2009–10 budget of $51.86 million.
The overall education program can’t be cut any further, he said, without hurting district students. It’s unfortunate that the district is being affected by the state and some decisions it’s made, DeBerardinis said, but students won’t suffer because of it.
“We can only spend so much, there are always priorities. We’re at cap right now, but we had to cut about $600,000 to get to cap. We’re waiting for the state aid numbers and we can’t cut our program anymore,” he said. “The kids will not suffer because of the incompetence of state officials. “
The district’s health insurance costs are also going up, he said, because the district is enrolled in the state’s health insurance program.
The state announced its costs for the program were going to increase by 24 percent, DeBerardinis said.
The budget increase for this year would have been minimal without the 24 percent increase in health insurance costs, he said.
Representatives from the Eastern Regional High School could not be reached for comment on their upcoming budget.
Voters will have their say on the proposed budget during the April 20 school district elections.
