At its Monday, March 17, meeting, the Park Ridge Board of Education will finalize the proposed 2008-2009 school budget in preparation for the March 24 public hearing.

While the budget total and its corresponding tax levy didn’t change as a result of lengthy discussions at the March 10 meeting, some funds were reallocated. Some of these changes stemmed from the board’s March 5 public budget meeting.

Four staff positions were restored: one Basic Skills math specialist; two librarian/technology specialists, one each for East Brook and West Ridge elementary schools; and one fifth-grade teacher for East Brook. In addition, funding for field trips, including outings for elementary and high school students; the Camp Bernie trip, and transportation for the marching band to attend away football games that had been cut from the budget, was also restored. Funding for these expenses was secured by reductions in several areas, including maintenance and repairs, professional development, and technology.

Separate Proposal

The board also amended the content of a Separate Proposal that will appear on the ballot April 15, along with the budget and candidates for board of education seats. Robert Wright, the district’s business administrator, said the county approved the content of the proposal that totaled $450,000. As reported, the district included repairs to and replacement of district facilities including sidewalk and track repairs, bleachers and building security, and staff to maintain the district’s guidelines on class size.

In what could be its final version, the proposal now totals $310,00 and includes staffing for remedial/enrichment services to elementary school students; a fifth-grade teacher for West Ridge School ; replacement of bleachers, and the installation of security systems in each of the district’s buildings that would allow for the monitoring of all external doors. If this proposal is approved by voters, the tax levy on the average home in the borough would go up an additional $45.

Basic Skills, Staff Development

Over the past several weeks, the Basic Skills program has been discussed at length. Basic Skills instruction, at one time referred to as remedial reading and math, is intended to help general education students who are having difficulty mastering grade-level coursework. When a reduction in staff was proposed, parents objected.

Superintendent of Schools Patricia Johnson said that the program needed re-working as it appeared that there was “no criteria for students entering the program nor a benchmark for students to leave it.” She said that policy would be created and she was confident that the number of students receiving Basic Skills instruction would be reduced, thereby justifying the staff reduction. At the request of the board, Johnson will present a draft of the policy for the board’s review at the March 17 meeting.

In addition, she will provide the board with an overview of the professional development programs currently underway in the district. This is in response to concerns from some board members about the $100,000 line item in the budget for staff development. That amount was reduced by $20,000 as one source of funding to restore items to the budget. When it was suggested that more money be taken from the staff development line, Johnson adamantly opposed further reductions because, she said, there are programs underway in the district that need to be seen to completion. It was then suggested that the board be made aware of what those programs are and how long it will be until the work is completed.

Once the proposed budget and Separate Question are approved by the board, the district will advertise the information as a legal notice and send a budget newsletter to residents. The public hearing on the proposed budget is scheduled for Monday, March 24. The public hearing provides an opportunity for residents to ask questions and suggest changes. The board votes on the final version of the budget after the public has been heard.

Kathryn A. Burger's e-mail address is burger@northjersey.com.