Vo-tech school district should be funded through county, state

How much more can school districts take? This is the time of year when local public school administrators stretch every penny they have to create a school budget to present to taxpayers that is fiscally prudent, while providing the highest quality of education for students.

Unfortunately, forces always seem to be working against the school districts. First, the state announced it will once again not raise state aid to school districts due to the economic condition of the state. The state’s decision is ironic because many of the costs in school districts are a direct result of state-mandated programs.

The state isn’t even providing the standard 3 percent cost-of-living increase this year to the districts. Factor in an increase in district enrollment next year and school officials may be looking at what is effectively a state aid cut.

Two weeks ago, school districts were required to introduce tentative budgets for the 2003-04 school year in anticipation of a public vote on April 15. While some districts presented taxpayers with low to moderate school tax increases, others reached hikes of more than 20 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation. It’s no secret that taxpayers don’t like proposed tax increases.

Then, as if to add insult to injury, this year, as school officials in Monmouth County geared up to present their tentative budgets to the public, the Monmouth County Vocational School District hit them with a first-time tuition bill for shared-time students. The timing of the notification letter from vocational district Superintendent of Schools Brian McAndrew couldn’t have been worse for some districts.

Middletown Superintendent of Schools David Witmer received McAndrew’s letter notifying him of the increased tuition the same day the tentative school budget was set to be presented to the public.

As a result, the possible $150,000 in tuition to the vocational district was not factored into Middletown’s 2003-04 budget. If the increases go through, school officials will have to find a way to come up with the additional funds, either by raising taxes or cutting programs, two things taxpayers don’t like.

Faced with tough economic times, the answer is not for the county vocational school district to turn to the already overextended public school districts to help cover costs. The vocational district’s revenue comes from three sources: the county, the state and tuition.

It is encouraging to know that McAndrew plans to meet this week with county officials in an effort to find other ways to raise revenue without going deeper into the public school districts’ pockets. Although public school districts always paid tuition for full-time vocational students, they have never paid for part-time, or shared-time, students, and they shouldn’t start now. Monmouth County leaders should follow the example of other counties by providing the needed funding to the vocational school district and taking the burden off the public schools.