District finds budget cuts Retirements, tuition rebate help P'burg. Salary savings, state money add up to about $160,000. Wednesday, May 09, 2007 • By DANIEL HAUSMANN • The Express-Times PHILLIPSBURG | With 11 retirements and a sizable tuition rebate coming in, school district administrators found about $160,000 to cut from the 2007-08 budget. Monday night was the first sit down between the school board and town council. With voters rejecting the district's $61 million tax levy last month, it's now council's role to sign off on the budget or recommend cuts. Just after starting the meeting, Superintendent Gordon Pethick told council about the money freed up in the budget. "We have some very, very positive news," Pethick said. Coincidentally it was the same amount council president David DeGerolamo said he would like to cut at last week's council meeting. The difference between paying the retired experienced teachers and newer teachers saves about $93,000. School business manager Bill Poch said the Warren County Special Services District told Phillipsburg that it will receive about $196,000 over the next three years in tuition rebates. In 2007-08 that amounts to $68,000 in what Poch called tuition overpayments made to the special needs school. There could be more money coming in; Poch said the special services district is also looking to lease a room in the Early Childhood Learning Center. If council cuts that money from the school budget, that could reduce the average property owner's tax hike by $17. The current proposed rate would hike school taxes by $62. Those cuts are now up to council. They can recommend reductions on line items where they choose or leave the budget as is. The deadline is May 21; council has a meeting next Tuesday. "We're going to examine everything put forward to us," DeGerolamo said. "I think we would still look at where we may be heavy." DeGerolamo and council vice president James Stettner said at the last meeting cuts could come from the school's administrative staff. The school board can then appeal council's cuts to the state Department of Education. There is also the possibility the school and council would take the $160,000 in cuts and put it toward hiring additional security for the elementary schools. The budget already calls for the district to add two part-timers and a full-timer to serve as rovers among the elementary schools. They originally intended to add more. Board member Frank Kish serves on the security committee and this is not a new issue. "Each time we've put forth a request for more security we've been met with a state budget cut," Kish said. Reporter Daniel Hausmann can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at dhausmann@express-times.com. © 2007 The Express-Times. Used with permission.