Budget goes to the voters Phillipsburg School District plan includes largest school tax increase in a decade. Tuesday, March 27, 2007 • By DANIEL HAUSMANN • The Express-Times PHILLIPSBURG | A school tax hike is now in the hands of the voters. The school board adopted the $61.1 million 2007-08 budget in an 11-1 vote Monday night. The 7-cent hike on the tax rate is the largest school tax increase in a decade. School board president Paul Rummerfield cast the no vote and said the board overlooked revamping the administration in approving the budget. He said the district is top-heavy. "I don't think we did an adequate job of investigating the number of administrators we have," Rummerfield said. "As a board, before we make other reductions should have looked at administrative staff." The state mandated the school district raise taxes to cover a $271,000 cut in state aid. The school district then opted to take a 3 percent hike from the state. The state Department of Education gave New Jersey's 31 economically disadvantaged school districts, also known as Abbott districts, the option of taking a 3 percent hike in state aid or submitting a flat-funded budget and then appealing for court-mandated state assistance. The district faced the same choice during the 2006-07 budget process. Phillipsburg was flat-funded and asked for close to $10 million in state aid. After a lengthy appeals process, the district settled for $886,000. The district approved a preliminary budget March 19, similar to the one approved Monday night. The big change was the school security force. Through some finagling, the district was able to retain one full-time security officer and add two part-timers. The preliminary budget didn't add security after the board discussed staffing officers at all elementary buildings. "This is one of the ones we fought to keep," Superintendent Gordon Pethick said. "Anything we can do to try and establish a stronger force is vital to the security of the district." Business manager Bill Poch was able to pump $6,000 into the budget by carrying over money from the current year. The district won't fill nine open or soon-to-be-vacant positions. Poch said at worst the district may have to lay off a special education teacher and a custodian if there aren't two resignations. "We did our best to keep the cuts away from the teacher positions," Pethick said. "This is not the best news but we'll be able to operate the program with the adjustments." Those moves along with other cuts saved the district $58,000. That amount covered $45,000 in salary for the security additions and most of the benefits. Slicing and dicing has become an annual rite of spring for the district's budget brain trust. "Every year it becomes more and more difficult with the state situation," said Tom McGuire, chairman of the budget and finance committee. "Hopefully next year will be a little bit prettier." Including municipal taxes, the average Phillipsburg homeowner would see his or her taxes go up by $107. Last year's final budget came in at $59 million. Town taxpayers will vote on the school district budget April 17. Reporter Daniel Hausmann can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at dhausmann@express-times.com. © 2007 The Express-Times. Used by NJ.com with permission.