Voters Pass School's $86.77 Million Budget by Comfortable Margin

The district told voters its was fiscally responsible and gave one of the state's top public schools the ability to maintain its 'tradition of excellence' in trying times. Voters agreed Wednesday, passing the budget by about 400 votes.

Superintendent of schools Dr. Daniel Fishbein expressed gratitude for the Ridgewood voting public.

"I'm very relieved and appreciative of the community for passing the budget," he said. There were 1,812 'yes' votes to 1,446 'no' votes, with a total turnout of 21.3 percent.

The budget–which included zero programming or staffing cuts after the governor reinstated about $850,000 of state aid–will increase taxes by $190.90 for the average resident with a home valued at $797,422; or a $23.94 increase per every $100,000 valuation. The tax levy for the 2011-2012 school year will be $81,323,178.

There are still some costs that must be factored, including the largest–teacher contracts. The agreement with the teacher's union ends at the end of June and the district has built in a zero percent increase into its 2011-2012 budget.

The largest cost drivers in the budget were energy costs and estimated increases in health care, which were slated to be between 12 and 18 percent. The district elected to not apply for a waiver to the health care costs, which would have driven taxes up even further for residents. Board member Sheila Brogan said "it wasn't even a blip on the radar screen."

Budget levels remained flat per the request of Fishbein and top budget crafters, though there were minor exceptions, notably in book purchases. The superintendent cautioned that the budget not be passed, it would likely lead to cuts in staffing.

Luckily for the district, that won't be happening. It's certainly a different story than last year, when voters rejected the district's proposed budget after $6 million were cut and staff and programs were jettisoned.

The council last year elected to make a symbolic cut to a transportation line item to the defeated budget. But by that point, the district says, the damage was already done. The district has said the cuts made in 2010–which includes the loss of Reading Recovery program as well as a restructuring and loss of staff, as well as a new, reduced substitute teacher program introduced at the high school–were still stinging.

The proposed budget this time around, members said, was not about increasing excellence, but about providing the flexibility to maintain a top district in one of the country's highest-scoring but fiscally failing states.

Members variously called it an "austerity budget" and a "maintenance budget."

Still, the work is not done. In fact, in most respects it's just starting, Fishbein said. "Tomorrow really starts, in many areas, the next year."

School board incumbent Laurie Goodman lost her seat to newcomer Christina Krauss while Brogan, a 15-year veteran of the board, was re-elected. Both will serve a three-year term.