Flat State Aid is Challenging, Interim Superintendent Says

With the state aid numbers released Thursday afternoon, Bedminster Township School District is prepping to receive almost completely flat aid.

The district will be receiving $650,803 in state aid for the 2013-2014 school year, a total of $1 more than it received for the 2012-2013 school year.

The district is also receiving $477,773 in special education aid.

Those are the costs that are currently most important to the district as it is dealing with a in the 2013-2014 school year.

The district is currently working on putting together a budget that could see a 10 percent increase. The budget is expected to be introduced Wednesday before it is due to the county superintendent March 7.

Interim superintendent Ron Bolandi—who was appointed to the position Wednesday for about eight days while Superintendent Carolyn Koos is out on sick leave—said he is still starting to familiarize himself with the budget, but they will move forward with the news.

"We'll have to live with that," he said. "You have to make sure you can continue to maintain quality programs that you have under flat state aid without affecting taxes."

"You have that delicate balance when you get flat state aid and there are only a couple ways you can go," he added. "The budget will increase because the daily cost of living increases each year."

Bolandi said the district needs to look at where to cut, while also trying not to cut from the students themselves.

"That is not going to be easy in a small school district," he said. "It looks like the budget is tight and there are not a lot of places to go."

But, Bolandi said, his main responsibility will be finding the way around that without affecting the students themselves.

"That's my first responsibility, to maintain a quality education progam," he said. "I hope I wouldn't have to cut into quality programs."