Rec Dept. raises fees, hits back at school board A letter to parents puts blame for increased rates on board's usage fees BY TOM CAIAZZA Staff Writer The Edison Recreation Department hit back against the Board of Education this week, after the board decided to impose school use fees for the first time. The Recreation Department released a strongly worded letter to parents whose children participate in the before- and after-school programs at the various district schools on July 16, alerting them that fees for both programs will be increased and leaving no question as to who was to blame. The letter, which announced an increase of $30 per pupil per session from the previous price, puts the blame squarely in the lap of the Board of Education, stating that its decision to impose fees for the use of district schools to make up a $450,000 budget shortfall has directly resulted in the raising of individual per-pupil fees. "The Board of Education has never charged these fees before, and we do not agree with their decision nor do we want to raise your fees," the letter from the Recreation Department read. The letter then directed any and all residents with questions and concerns over the increase of fees to contact board President David Dickinson directly, and included his phone number. The Board of Education approved the implementation of use fees at its June 6 meeting as one way to fill the $1.7 million in cuts the Township Council ordered from the defeated school budget. Last April, the $186 million school budget was defeated by voters and thrown to the township council for consideration. The council ordered the district to cut upwards of $1.7 million from the budget but left it up to them as to where those funds could come from. At the June 6 meeting, the Board of Education opted not to cut spending as much as increase revenue by charging outside groups, such as the township recreation department, fees to pay for use of the various school buildings. Jerry Barca, communications director for Mayor Choi's administration defended the wording of the letter that puts the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the Board and Dickinson. "These additional fees are being imposed by Dickinson and the Board of Education," Barca said. "We do not have some hidden surplus to make up for the Board of Education's actions." He also said that the whole situation was a reaction to politics. "During a heated primary," Barca said, "the council cut the Board of Education budget. The Board of Education members decided, in turn, to charge the township for the amount of money these elected officials cut." Barca said that the taxpayers are the ones affected. "The people who are hurt are the taxpayers," Barca said, "because in the end they are the ones that have to pay out of their pocket for this political back and forth." Superintendent of Schools Carol Toth said that the district had to make a tough choice to keep the quality of education in mind. "People have to realize that when budgets go down and things like this happen there are a lot of things educationally that we provide that are not mandated," Toth said, "and this is going to affect a lot of people ... because something has to give to keep the level of education up." Toth said that much of the problem is the state aid formula that, she believes, classifies Edison incorrectly as a wealthy district. "This all has to do with Trenton, too, because our hands are tied," Toth said. "The problem's not here with the Board of Education or the town council, it's with Trenton and until we get our fair funding it's going to keep going on." Denise Halliwell, the director of recreation for the township was unable to be reached for comment on this story, but has raised serious concerns over the board's actions in the past. At the June 6 meeting, Halliwell said it was unfair for the board to impose these usage fees because the total amount they were requesting would have come from the recreation department causing them to raise fees. Despite several attempts, David Dickinson could not be reached for comment before press time.