Politics & Government

Town Officials 'Disappointed' with Board of Ed Decision

All five members of the Maplewood Township Committee expressed their disappointment with the Board of Education's decision not to use additional state aid for immediate tax relief; South Orange trustees agreed

"Some of us are in a fowl mood already," joked Mayor Vic DeLuca at the beginning of the Maplewood Township Committee meeting tonight.

DeLuca was referring to a scheduled presentation about legalizing chicken coops in town, but the fowl turned to foul later when talk turned to a recent action by the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education.

At a Monday night meeting, the Board of Education the  it was awarded last week to provide tax relief this year. South Orange-Maplewood’s allocation increased by $1,060,789. 

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The board left open a decision about how the money would be spent, although there was a recommendation from Superintendent Brian Osborne that this money is an opportunity to fund two additional guidance counselors for Columbia High School. The decision also left open the possibility of applying some or all of the funds to tax relief in 2012-13.

The Board made the decision despite the fact that five members of the Board of School Estimate either appeared in person or sent a message expressing their desire that all or part of the state aid be used for tax relief. (The Board of School Estimate is made up of three members each from Maplewood and South Orange's governing bodies; the BSE votes the tax levy for the school budget up or down each year.)

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DeLuca spoke of "taxpayer pain," noting that a recent revaluation hit Maplewood's east side especially hard. "Any relief would help."

South Orange Village Trustee — and Board of School Estimate member — Michael Goldberg had sent this message to the Board of Education on Friday night (it was seconded in an email by Trustee and BSE member Nancy Gould on Monday evening):

It goes without saying that South Orange and Maplewood are two of the highest taxed communities in the State. As a result, we need to take every opportunity we can to stem the tide of increases and use every opportunity possible to provide relief when it presents itself.  

As I understand, consideration is being given to deferring tax relief to subsequent years instead of using the aid to provide relief now. I would like to urge the Administration and Board to apply ALL extra aid that is received to the current budget for the relief of current taxpayers. In this time of continued economic uncertainty and hardship for so many members of our community, there is no time like the present to use this aid.

In the last two years, state aid to the district has been drastically cut — as it has to districts statewide. The additional $1.06 million brings the South Orange-Maplewood School District to about 27% of the aid that the district was receiving from the state three years ago.

Nonetheless, at the Tuesday night Maplewood Township Committee meeting, all five members took the opportunity during their reports to express their disappointment in the Board of Education's decision not to apply the state aid to immediate tax relief.

Committeeperson Jerry Ryan, who noted that he had spoken on his own and not on behalf of the Township Committee at the Board of Education meeting, said he had suggested that the Board "use the lion's share of the state aid for property tax relief." Ryan said that he was astonished that one Board of Education member said he had never heard anyone complain about school taxes. "I will pass on complaints to him," said Ryan.

Vice Mayor Kathy Leventhal said she shared the same sentiments as Ryan and had sent a letter to the Board of Education expressing her desire that the state aid be used for tax relief.

Deputy Mayor Fred Profeta felt strongly that the Board of Education should have devoted "the entire" $1.06 million to tax relief — "in view of the closeness of the Board of School Estimate vote" this past March. "They should have at least consulted the Board of School Estimate," added Profeta. "The BSE spoke loud and clear on that. ."

"It should have been used for tax relief, and it wasn't," said Profeta, with emphasis, adding that the Board of School Estimate "should keep this in mind for next year."

Committeeperson Marlon K. Brownlee said he likewise was "disappointed" that the Board of Education did not devote any of the aid to tax relief. Saying he was "sympathetic" to the Board's need to run a large district with constrained funding, Brownlee nonetheless noted that municipalities also struggled to balance the needs of their constituents with fiscal restraint. "The fact that there was no allocation for tax relief was disappointing," said Brownlee.

"They framed it incorrectly," said DeLuca of Board of Education members' breakdown of the state aid as affording about $40 in relief per household. "This is a million dollars that they decided to keep from the residents," said DeLuca. While saying that he understood the Board's position, DeLuca nonetheless reiterated, "This is a million dollar choice, and they made the wrong choice."

This year, the Maplewood Township Committee passed a budget that resulted in no tax increase for the average Maplewood home owner. While the governing body was required by the state to stay within a 2% tax cap, the Committee decided to approve  in order to acknowledge the difficulty many residents were facing in dealing with a bad economy and a .


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