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Sharply divided Farmingdale school community passes 2004-2005 budget in second go-around

by Kate Mayberry

Community members who are "in the know" insisted last Monday that the Farmingdale school budget would fail in its second go-round, despite being reduced by nearly $1.4 million. They were wrong.

"The budget is going to fail, and every one of the current board members will be replaced in the upcoming years," said Mike Grello, president of the Concerned Citizens Association of Farmingdale. "The District needs to hear our message," he added. Grello said he thinks the current trustees have failed to live up to their duty.

"I truly believe the school board has let the community down by cutting programs they fought for years to bring into the district," Grello said. He said he will use his position as a community leader to advocate a changing of the guard in coming years.

But, no matter the changes that some believe are necessary in the future, residents seemed to have found the budget cuts satisfactory enough, and passed the budget by 13 percent, or 599 votes of a total 4,693 cast. The original proposed spending plan failed in May, by more than 700 of the 4,413 votes cast then.

"The people of Farmingdale really love their children," is the message School Board President Anthony Vitale said he heard by 9:30 p.m. on June 21 when administrators finished checking the voting machines at Howitt Middle School.

Vitale noted what he described as the impressive turnaround from last month’s vote, when more than half the voters rejected the budget. This second shot at a revised budget brought out almost 300 more voters, and found the support of 2,646 of them.

But the atmosphere around the polling place was tense as voters drifted in and out of the polls throughout the day and into the evening, unsure which way the tide would turn this time. "At least by the end of this day, we will know what the budget is," said Assistant Superintendent for Business John Lorentz, who has poured over the figures since budget preparation began early in the year, and then again to revise it and present it to the community.

Superintendent Dr. Roberta Gerold said she thought the vote would be close, because the community’s atmosphere over several weeks had been filled with extreme emotions, for and against passage. Many residents were initially reluctant to say how they voted, but the ones who did, did so firmly and resolutely.

"Oh, I always support the budget," one insisted.

"I voted no because I’ve had enough," said another.

"It shouldn’t pass. It’s too much on the taxpayers," said one man hurrying away.

"I have children in the district, I think its important to pay my taxes and support education," said one mother.

Some residents said they believe education is important, and they didn’t want to take anything away from the community’s children by voting down the budget.

Others residents said they were grandparents who raised their own children in the district, and now support the budget to keep programs and services in place for their grandchildren.

Still, some other seniors said they had paid their taxes for years, and now find they can no longer support additional increases.

One younger couple opposed the budget, too. They said they were concerned with the size of the increase. New homeowners with a tax bill of $8,000 a year, they came out to vote down the budget, adding that their baby doesn’t benefit from the district’s educational services yet.

Elyse and Joseph Levine spoke about their feelings on the budget. Residents of Farmingdale for 15 years, and with two children in the district, they said they voted for the budget both times, but were unhappy about the increases. They said they felt as if they were being held hostage.

"What can we do?" questioned Elyse Levine. "If the budget fails, they cut worthwhile programs from the kids...," she said. "Why can’t they find other ways to reduce spending? Why does it always come from the children?"

Grello agreed, arguing that the district should consider cutting staff at the secretarial, custodial, and support staff levels. He also questioned the district’s need for costs associated with administrators’ and trustees’ attendance at conferences and memberships in professional associations.

"They threaten to take from the kids to get the public upset and get their budgets passed year after year," charged Grello. "That has got to change."

Superintendent Roberta Gerold countered that each budget item has a valid purpose which perhaps isn’t always clear to the public. She recommended that concerned residents who disagree with any expenditure or cuts should attend budget development workshops and become a part of the budget process.

Overall, the message from the Farmingdale residents seems to be that district spending must be kept in check, said one school official.

"I feel sorry for the guy they elected this year," joked Russ Catanzaro who was, in fact, elected in May to replace incumbent trustee Joy Jorgensen.

Speaking more seriously, Catanzaro said he is ready and willing to take on the responsibility of being watchdog and to encourage the changes needed to reduce spending. "It has to be done. The community has spoken," he said.

APPROVED BUDGET FACTS

The voter-approved budget for 2004-05 is $114,625,481 reflecting a 7.25 percent increase in expenditures over last year, has a proposed tax levy of $92,812,235. That figure is still subject to change when final state aid figures come in. It is an 8.8 percent increase over last year’s tax levy.

The approved budget will have an impact on several areas, according to Lorentz, who said cuts will be evident in several areas. There will be staffing reductions—in addition to the 12 that were reduced in the first budget—which will include two elementary guidance counselors, one instructional associate from the Howitt Middle School and another from the Woodward Parkway school. Two elementary science consultants, used in fourth grade preparation for assessment tests, will also be eliminated.

Athletic offerings for grades seven and eight will be reduced and no night games will be held next year, Lorentz said. Academic competitions at the elementary and middle school levels will be reduced as well.

The alternative learning program at the middle school, Bridge, will be eliminated, while its similar program at the high school, PAGE, will remain in place. Many Page students pleaded with the Board publicly to save PAGE, saying it was "their only light at the end of the tunnel" and "the only reason they wake up in the morning."

Further cuts include elementary co-curricular clubs, the third grade orchestra program Strings, and transportation for all field trips. All elementary summer school, except for fourth and fifth grades, will be eliminated.

The self-sustaining driver education program, which was to be reinstated under the original budget as a tuition-funded program, will also be eliminated. Graphic calculators will no longer be provided at the high school.

The continuing education program will be reduced by 50 percent, and money for senior support services is limited to whatever is left over in the adult education program, said Lorentz. Professional development is reduced and community use of the district facilities will be decreased after the month of August. Only $476,000 is allotted to the purchase of equipment for the 2004-05 fiscal year, limiting it to emergency use only, said Lorentz.