The Hoboken Board of Education unanimously adopted a $78.5 million budget for the 2019-2020 school year.
The district suffered the loss of just under $450,000 in state aid, announced by the New Jersey Department of Education a few months ago. The reduction is the result of Gov. Phil Murphy signing Senate President Steve Sweeney’s school funding reform bill into law last year, a measure designed to help move all school districts toward equal funding.
To help balance the budget, the district will merge Calabro Elementry School and Brandt Elementary School.
During the May 14 meeting, the board also recognized its students of the month, as well as students who participated in The Hoboken High School Debate Team, Classroom Without Walls program, and Hoboken Middle School Community Book Club, among other programs.
The budget
The budget affects residents’ school portion of their overall tax bill. Their bill is made up of tax rates from the schools, city (which has not yet been adopted) and the county, whose budget will be introduced in June.
The budget will be financed from several sources, including a local property tax levy of $48.3 million, up from $45.8 million last year. On an average home assessed at $521,200 the school portion of taxes will be $125.09 per year.
In addition to local school taxes, the rest of the budget will come from state and federal aid, tuition fees for out-of-town students attending Hoboken public schools, rents, and funds for preschool education.
Of the total $78.5 million, $10.4 million will fund the three charter schools. Those schools, which are also public, raise some funding themselves (not considered part of this budget).
The largest portion of the district’s $61 million operating budget is about $15.2 million, which will pay for regular programs and instruction. The second largest portion goes to the charter schools at $10.4 million, and the third largest portion is for employee benefits at $10.2 million.
According to the presentation, of the total $78.5 million, roughly $14.5 million, received from state and local sources, goes to fund the district’s free preschool education program, which this year will include seven additional classes to bring the total Pre-K classes to 66 next year.
Balancing the books
To help recoup some of the costs associated with the reduction in state aid, and increases in enrollment, the school district will merge Calabro Elementary School and Brandt Elementary School to balance the district budget.
According to Superintendent Dr. Christine Johnson, this merge allows the district to recoup what would have been a nearly $700,000 budget deficit without cutting existing programs and services.
During the budget hearing, held on May 7, the Board of Education voted 8-1-0 to approve the merger of the two schools. Trustee Malani Cademartori abstained.
As a result of combining the schools, the district will transform the former Calabro Elementary School into an early-childhood learning center, which will operate 10 preschool classes and house both preschool and district administrative services starting next year.
Without this merge, Johnson said several programs could have been cut throughout all the district’s schools, including Passport to Learning after-school program, summer theater program, LEAP summer program, Summer Instrumental Program, Middle School Theater Program, Freshman and JV Athletics, Harvard Model Congress Travel program, and Elementary world language programs.
“I think all of us are very proud of what has gone on and the progress that has been made in the Hoboken Public School district over the last five to 10 years, and I think when you look at our choice, you are choosing the Hoboken Public School district and not an individual school because all of our schools have the same curriculum, the same after-school offerings, and are equally as excellent,” said Board President Sharyn Angley.
Board Vice President Thomas Kluepfel said the programs that would have been cut are exactly what has made the district better, which is why he voted for the merge.
Students of the month
The district celebrated the achievements of their students during the May 14 meeting, presenting each with certificates.
This includes the students of the month from the district’s six schools. Third grader Daniel Arocho was the student of the month at Brandt School. Kindergarten student Jade Stewart was the student of the month at Calabro School. Fourth grader Samaya Blanks was the student of the month at Connors School. Third grader Skyla Miller was the Wallace School student of the month. Eighth grader Madison Gray was the student of the month at Hoboken Middle School, and Senior Kelsey Armengolt was the Hoboken High School student of the month.
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