$91M Ridgewood School Budget in Hands of Voters Tuesday

Ridgewood residents will take to the polls Tuesday to determine the fate of the proposed $91 million school budget for 2013-2014.

If approved, the $91,287,513 budget will see the average homeowner's school tax bill increase $203.63. No layoffs are projected with the budget, which features an $85 million local tax levy and an overall increase of 2 percent.

Separately, two incumbents are running unopposed for two school board seats. Jim Morgan and Michele Lenhard will be starting new three-year terms when the board reorganizes later this month.

Ridgewood is among only 10 percent of New Jersey districts that opted to keep spring elections. The vast majority of districts removed the budget vote by moving elections to the November ballot.

Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. 

Should the budget vote fail – as it did in 2010 – the Ridgewood Village Council would set a new tax levy.

Village school officials stressed during the budget process that there were tremendous challenges to piecing together the proposed budget, notably in budgeting a $2 million increase in special education costs.

The proposed budget will also see the district's capital balance drop to $550,000, the vast majority of which will be allocated to the new high school library.

Superintendent Daniel Fishbein says Ridgewood has some of the state's highest performance scores, made all the more impressive given that cost-per-pupil figures are also among the lowest in the state.

"Our numbers are quite favorable," the superintendent said. "We're fiscally efficient and we do have some very good outcomes. I think that's important to understand."

School officials , mostly using $200,000 in fund balance, salary breakage of staff, and fewer sections in kindergarten to keep cuts away from programs or staff.

Salary breakage and a change in healthcare providers offer a combined $2.5 million in savings for 2013-2014. But the appropriations likely can't be utilized next budget year, nearly guaranteeing a rocky budget road in 2014-2015.