Watchung Choose All Three

Why can’t we spend our $1M reserves on upgrading equipment?
Remember when we had a $400K mold remediation surprise a few years back? Our school equipment is failing and needs constant repair. Every year our operating budget increases to address these issues, and surprises happen often. Other schools have $10-12M in their reserve budgets. It would be irresponsible of us to spend our small reserves on upgrading equipment. Instead, we need to finance the upgrading costs, get NJ to pay 30% of that financing, stop playing whack-a-mole with our equipment repairs, and build up our reserves!

How did we get here?
Here’s what Rich B., our finance committee chair has to say about this:
1. The Board of Ed can ask for a 2% increase in taxes every year. This already poses a challenge because employee salaries and benefits are 70% of the budget and rise approx. 3% every year. Adding in other fixed costs, like utilities and rising transportation costs, we are running a deficit.
2. The previous BoE from 2009-2017 did not take the full 2% increase for that entire timeframe. This, more than anything else, has crippled us. If the BoE had take the full amount, our schools would have approx. $1.7M additional right now to spend.
3. Our district’s last bond was paid off in 2017. Normally, school districts hold a referendum and open a new bond after one has ended. We did not. Now, five years have passed without the support of state aid and financing to upgrade infrastructure. We are woefully behind.
4. The old bond costed residents $800/household annually. The new one, if passed, would cost $250-$300/household. NJ has offered to fund $5M of the debt. And every dollar increase in per pupil state aid increases property values by $20.

It’s time to invest in our schools.

Remember to make your voice heard and vote on November 8th. Vote for Watchung Choose all Three - Joseph Barbella, Kevin McDonald, Jennifer Scharf, and Danielle Amedeo (write-in). A team that works smart, has experience, is dedicated to ALL children, and comes to the table with solutions.

Watchung deserves great schools that prepare our students for the high-tech environnement in which they’ll be living. Our opposition wants to use our reserves (which must be shored up) to maintain the infrastructure we have and make no improvements.