Montclair’s public schools are likely to face tough economic times ahead, school district officials have warned.
Schools Superintendent Frank Alvarez said officials fear the Montclair School District may be hit with a perfect storm of financial and regulatory changes that will make next year’s operating budget one of its most difficult ever.
"It’s going to be a very difficult year," Alvarez said. "We looking at new constraints from the state, a bleak economy and a budget review process by the new executive county school superintendent."
Alvarez’s comments were echoed by School Board President John Carlton and other board members who also warned of "difficult times ahead."
According to Alvarez, it is unlikely that the district will be able to mount any new initiatives or launch any new programs in the upcoming 2009-2010 school year.
He warned that conditions could force a reduction in services or staffing.
"We’re concerned," Alvarez said. "We want the community to know that changes are coming and that they will impact on our budget."
Tough budgets are becoming a regular feature of the school year in Montclair. Only last year, district officials trimmed more than $1 million from their proposed operating budget for the 2008-2009 school year in response to concerns from Township Council members and residents who feared that the record $110 million spending plan would force major increases in local property taxes.
In spite of the cuts in the district’s original proposed spending plan, school officials were able to set aside enough resources last year to go ahead with Alvarez’s promised China initiative which brought Mandarin language instruction to Nishuane and Glenfield schools starting in September.
After hearing impassioned pleas from parents during the school budget hearings, officials were also able to bring music instruction to Rand, Watchung, Hillside, Edgemont and Bradford schools with the hiring of a new music teacher who also started in September.
However, even reasonable arguments presented by local residents, parents and school staff may not be enough to sway budget decisions because New Jersey requires that all school district budgets be reviewed and approved by the newly created executive county schools superintendents.
"It may erode local control," Alvarez said of the process. "Even if we wanted to make changes in response to concerns expressed by the community, we may not have the final word."
Alvarez said the school district, like every other institution, business and household in Montclair, is bracing for the expected impact of the nationwide credit crunch which led to the recent meltdown on Wall Street.
Local officials are bracing for a possible loss of jobs, and a slowdown in new construction and development. They also fear potential increases in foreclosures and a downturn in local home sales. As many as one in six homes in New Jersey could be "underwater," a term Realtors use to describe homes that are worth less today than the mortgages held on them.
A drop in the value of Montclair homes could result in lower local property tax collections. Property taxes fund municipal and county government in addition to providing nearly all the funding for the operation of Montclair’s 11 public schools.
Gov. Jon Corzine is scheduled to address an unusual joint session of the state Senate and Assembly in Trenton today to outline his plans to help the state weather the current economic crisis. Corzine is expected to propose that the state launch new capital construction projects, including new roads and schools, as a way of boosting job growth.
Montclair School District Business Administrator Dana Sullivan said school officials are beginning their budget planning earlier than usual this year. She said school administrators are already putting together their budget requests for review by top district officials, who will then prepare a preliminary draft that will reviewed by the Board of Education.
That draft is then presented to the Board of School Estimate, a five-member panel that includes Mayor Jerry Fried, along with First Ward council member Rich Murnick and Fourth Ward Renee Baskerville, and Board of Education members Tim Barr and Shelly Lombard.
The Board of School Estimate will hold a series of public workshops and public hearings on the proposed budget before voting a final approval on the spending plan.
Once the Board of School Estimate completes its work, the approved spending plan will be forwarded to the Essex County executive school superintendent for approval.
