Permanent Tax Increase Plans Discussed By Chatham School Board

CHATHAM, NJ — As the deadline for Chatham voters to adopt or reject a school bond plan in the November general election approaches, Chatham Superintendent Michael LaSusa presented the two budget questions to provide residents with a better knowledge of the process.

The presentation was made at the Monday, Sept. 18, board of education meeting.

The school board decided last year to include a second question on the November election ballot to fund the construction of six security vestibules, with the final interpretive statement having been turned in to the county clerk's office this summer.

According to LaSusa, the first question will ask voters to authorize an additional $850,000 this year for the building of security vestibules in all of the district's schools, making it a permanent part of the baseline budget, resulting in a 1.23 percent annual increase.

As the increase to the tax levy would remain permanent, that excess of money each year would be used for other safety and security-related projects within the district.

"Security vestibules are double sets of locking doors, so that when a visitor enters a school, they pass through the exterior sets of doors and find themselves in a vestibule, in a corridor, where there is an additional set of locking doors that prohibits them from entering further beyond that into the school," LaSusa said.

The school board also stated that the state of New Jersey currently requires all schools to have security vestibules, but due to the age of the Chatham schools, they have not been added to the district.

If voters were to approve the first question, LaSusa stated that construction on the security vestibules would take top priority and would hopefully be operational by the beginning of the next school year.

Several parents questioned why the district was putting more thought into building security vestibules rather than using the money to hire more security guards at the schools.

In response, board president Jill Weber stated that the money would also be there to hire more Class III special law enforcement officers, but that it's not up to the district to hire more.

"The schools cannot hire Class III's. They have to be hired by the police department, and the police department does their best in interviewing. There are very few Class III officers available," Weber said.

Despite that, Weber affirmed that security is a top priority for everyone in the district.

"Then the dollar amount that would be part of the base budget would be used to pay for other safety and security expenses that we are currently struggling to keep up with," LaSusa said.

In subsequent years, the funds will be used for ongoing security costs, such as the maintenance of surveillance systems, the hiring of security personnel, the upkeep of cybersecurity software and services relating to mental health violence risk assessments.

The second question that was presented to the community requests $900,000 to give health care benefits to paraprofessionals and make it a permanent part of the baseline budget, with a 1.30 percent yearly increase.

According to LaSusa, prior to 2008, the school district provided health benefits to paraprofessional staff because they were full-time employees. However, in order to manage the district's budget after 2008, the district chose to convert all full-time positions into part-time work in order to generate additional employees without having to pay for health benefits.

"It was a budget savings measure, and you could argue that it worked well for quite a while, but in recent years, it's been increasingly difficult to find staff willing to do these jobs, and it's been increasingly common that we are losing staff to other districts that offer health benefits," LaSusa said.

The School District of the Chathams has been publicly confronted with a continuing decline in both teachers and paraprofessionals within the district for several months and has been looking for ways to attract new employees.

Bradley Smith, chair of the board's finance and facilities committee, has previously said that one of the few things that would help keep staff within the district is more money.

Some locals have expressed alarm over the suggestion of a permanent tax increase since the introduction of the second question. Weber addressed some of those worries on Monday, stating that the second question would be growing the base budget rather than the tax levy percentage each year.

"It's not that we are going to add $850,000. It becomes part of the base budget. It's different than a one-time expenditure," Weber said.

The board also assured the community that the two questions would be posted on the school district's website, along with all other referendum-related information.