District makes budget pitch to residents School budget, bond referendum, set to be voted on April 15. BY CHRIS GAETANO Staff Writer Staff members from the Edison school district have been taking a presentation about the budget and the bond referendum to various schools in an effort to drum up support before the residents vote on the measure April 15. One such presentation was held March 18 at John Adams Middle School, where acting Superintendent John Dimuzio and Business Administrator Daniel Michaud explained this year's proposed budget and bond referendum to about 30 assembled residents. The preliminary budget is set at $195,030,235. This is a $9,214,855 increase over last year's budget. The average Edison homeowner will see a tax increase of $87. Of this, salaries and benefits make up about 78 percent. "Without the teachers, we have nothing, and we want good teachers and they want good pay … we want to tie them in so they don't leave us," said Dimuzio. Michaud said that 87.5 percent of revenue comes from the taxpayers, 9.6 percent comes from state aid, 1.9 percent comes from federal aid, and 1 percent comes from miscellaneous sources such as tuition, interest and building use fees. He added that the district has applied for just about "any grant that's possible." Dimuzio said he wanted to place an extra emphasis on upgrading the district's technology, with about $700,000 for upgrades slated to go into the potential 2008-09 spending plan. A big part of this upgrade would involve increasing the Internet capacity for the school, which is currently set at 5 megabytes per second. Dimuzio said he would like to pay to have it increased to 50 megabytes for this budget and 100 for the following budget. The proposed technology upgrade will also entail the hiring of two new technicians. "It's no good for us to get all this software … and not have technicians to help us out," said Dimuzio. Another point that Dimuzio brought up was in reference to busing fees. Last year the district introduced a $200 fee for families along certain bus routes, a move that was met with unpopularity by many parents when enacted. Dimuzio, in a letter sent to parents on Feb. 12, said that if the budget is approved by the voters, the district would eliminate the fees. "When the budget passes, there will be no charge for hazardous busing," Dimuzio said during the March presentation. If voters do not approve the budget, however, the district might increase fees up to $675, depending on how much the council, which receives the budget in the event the voters vote against it, ends up cutting. Dimuzio urged the public to vote for the budget, noting that it's the only budget they actually get to vote on. "It's very easy for the public to say 'vote no.' It is much harder to say 'vote yes,' " said Dimuzio, stressing the necessity of funding the district. Also discussed was the district's proposed $52 million bond referendum, which would go toward building one new elementary school, to be located near Thomas Jefferson Middle School. It would be a one-story, 83,856-squarefoot building that would need a new street parallel to Sims Road to be made to access it. The school would have 26 general education classrooms, one special-education classroom, four kindergarten classrooms, offices, a gym, an art room, a music room and a cafeteria. Since first being proposed, the school itself has been flipped 180 degrees, in response to concerns from neighbors. The bond would also fund renovations and revisions to three other elementary schools. Woodbrook Elementary School would receive a new gym, 10 extra classrooms, a special-education classroom, two offices, one extra set of bathrooms, and renovations to the multipurpose rooms and hallways. The addition would be 24,264 square feet. Ben Franklin Elementary School would get eight extra classrooms, a new gym, and an extra set of bathrooms. Renovations and alterations would be made to one classroom, the multipurpose room, and the hallways, the kitchen, offices, and the special-education classroom. The addition would be 21,456 square feet. James Madison Elementary School would receive 10 extra classrooms through renovations, and a new 8,188- square-foot gym addition. The bond is in response to what had previously been recorded to be record high enrollment for Edison. Dimuzio said there is a great need for additional classroom space, which the new school and additions can provide. He said they were focusing on the elementary level for now, but that the district would want to eventually build a new high school to accommodate the students as they advance through grades. Dimuzio said it was very important that the bond pass. "If people go out and say 'vote no,' then don't come to me [when there's no room in the schools]," said Dimuzio. Board President David Dickinson had previously stated that the bond would be tax neutral. While the debt service would cost each taxpayer a maximum of $65, it was said that this would be paid for by returning to Edison the special-education students who are currently being taught out of district, with some of the new classroom space being used to house them. This is contingent on getting 77 specialeducation students back into the district. During the presentation,Michaud said the cuts in the interest rate over the past few months make for a highly favorable environment for bonding, and that when the time comes to bid the loan out to someone, the district should be able to get a very good price for it. "I think in the market today, this is probably one of the best markets we've had to go out, and it's because of the interest rates. ... This percentage, if it keeps getting lower, it's a lot better for the taxpayers. So, we're hoping it goes lower, depending on if it's approved," said Michaud. Some there were skeptical of the proposed spending plans, saying that taxes have been going up for years, and expressed frustration at the spending levels in the district. "Why do we have already relatively high education costs here compared to other states based on income and whatever? … I don't know why the school system keeps going up, bumping up. Why is 4 percent [the spending cap level], every year, considered a reasonable increase when inflation is [only] going up 3 percent every year?" said Edison resident Jack Lu. Others were more supportive. "I thought it was well presented ... I think we should pass it. Our children need better than what they have, and our programs can't suffer, so we need to pass this referendum," said Edison resident Alan Horenbein.