Councils call for $1.1M cut to Mat-Ab budget Municipal officials from Matawan and Aberdeen recommended trimming $1.1 million from the proposed $62 million Matawan-Aberdeen School District budget on May 15. Voters rejected the budget on April 17 by a tally of 1,365 to 844. If approved, the budget would have raised the tax rate in both towns by about 19 cents. According to Matawan Borough Administrator Fred Carr, the cut equates to about 4 cents on the tax rate, or a penny for every $250,000 taken away from the proposed spending plan. "The school board will now take the matter up," Carr said on Monday. "They can adopt our recommended changes or refer the whole mess to the county superintendent." The school board was expected to vote on whether or not to accept the cuts at Monday night's meeting. The results of that vote were not available by press time. The Matawan Borough Council voted 5-0 on the matter May 8 with Mayor Mary Aufseeser and Councilman William Malley both absent. On Monday, Board of Education President Larry O'Connell said that overall the school board had "great interaction" with both councils in discussing the cuts. "Both councils were respectful and professional," O'Connell said. "Both councils had the same focus as the board did, avoiding cutting any program at all." O'Connell said that both mayors and one member from each council met with a portion of the Board of Education at Aberdeen's municipal building last week. "We are elected by the people to manage through situations like this," O'Connell said. He added the specific areas where cuts will be made that have not been identified yet. - Karen Bowes