School budget and bond both defeated Council will decide how much to cut, if anything, from the budget BY TOM CAIAZZA Staff Writer Call it sticker shock, call it overreaching, but for the second straight year, the Edison School District's budget and its ambitious $79 million bond proposal were both defeated by voters on April 17. The $186 million budget was shot down by a margin of 84 votes with little more than 10 percent of registered voters casting ballots for the budget, bond referendum and school board candidates. The budget, which Business Administrator Dan Michaud had said carried a smaller increase from year to year than the budget defeated last April, would have carried an 8-cent increase per $100 of assessed value. The decision on how much to cut from the defeated budget now rests with the Township Council, a move that last year resulted in a $1.5 million cut. "We have to go in front of the town council and plead our case and ask them not to take any money," said Superintendent of Schools Carol Toth. "If they do, then we're going to have to cut some programs and kids will be affected." Toth said that the district does not have a short list of programs they would plan to cut if the council decides to cut a significant amount from the budget for the 2007-08 school year. "We're not sure what kind of number we're looking at at this point," said Michaud. "In the past, they have always taken a point from us every year." Michaud said that the council will order how much to cut and can make suggestions as to where the money can come from, taking into consideration costs that the district is obligated to pay, such as salary, benefits and out-of-district placement for special education students. Michaud said that the suggestions are just that - suggestions - and the district can choose what to cut to meet the dollar amount required by the council. "We can put the cuts where we feel we can do with the least impact on the kids," Michaud said. "If they tell us to take out $1 million and cut out football, we have to cut $1 million, but we don't have to cut out football." Like many districts in the state, Toth said, the biggest hurt put on the district's budget came from the 4 percent cap on the local levy. Michaud said that the cap limited the district's increase on the local piece of the budget and couldn't increase the amount funded by the state and federal government. "We needed to increase our current expense by more than 4 percent because of things that are out of our control, like contractual obligations," Michaud said. The district's current expenses went up by more than 4 percent, Michaud said, causing the district to cut more than $6 million from the capital outlay portion of the budget, leaving $2 million. It is an issue Michaud said would be worse next year. "I'm not going to have that next year," Michaud said. "I'm down to $2 million in capital outlay now; I can't cut $6 million from there because there is only $2 million to start with." If the district comes in over cap again next year, it may result in "severe" cuts in programs, Michaud said. "The effect is going to be worse and worse each year unless something is done," Toth said. "Hopefully the governor is going to come out with a new funding formula and hopefully it will help us. If not, things are going to be cut." The $79 million bond referendum to expand a dozen district schools was also defeated, though by a smaller margin than the budget. The bond referendum would have meant increased classrooms, gymnasium and cafeteria space, as well as providing an opportunity for the district to bring many of the special education students that are required to be sent out of district, back into district, saving the required cost. "Out-of-district placements are out of control as far as tuition of these places," Toth said. "You can't project how many special ed. kids you're going to have in district every year." The district was able to acquire more than $17 million in debt service aid from the state over the 20-year life of the bond, putting the actual cost of the project around $63 million. The defeat of the bond referendum means that no new construction projects will be done in the district, despite the projected population increase over the next two years of almost 1,500 students, and may mean the debt service aid the district required could be lost. Michaud said that barring a separate vote in September, which the district was wary of doing because of the cost of a second round of voting, the district has few options left. "We're back to the drawing board, basically," Michaud said. "The need is still there. We still need these additions, but where do you go from here?"