The Morris School District board approved a $128.2 million 2020-21 budget via teleconference Monday that represents a 2.6 percent increase.
Officials said the plan is only a best guess, given uncertainties wrought by the pandemic that has shut down classroom instruction since March 16, 2020.
As the budget now stands, annual school taxes will drop by $33 for the average homeowner in Morristown (average home value: $354,790.) They will rise by $157 for the average homeowner in Morris Township (average home, $560,500), based on a state formula.
Aside from the coronavirus itself, state aid is the biggest wild card. Gov. Phil Murphy plans to review school funding numbers on Aug. 25.
Big state cuts could force layoffs — “a worst-case scenario”– and jeopardize the Morris district’s expanded Pre-K program, said Superintendent Mackey Pendergrast.
Immigration is another wild card. The district has allocated $657,000 to hire more bilingual teachers, in response to an influx of 354 immigrants in the last half of 2019.
VideoMorris Superintendent’s 2020-21 budget presentation:
About 90 percent of the new students live in Morristown, and half attend Morristown High School, Pendergrast said. Immigration numbers started dropping sharply in 2020, however.
“We have to watch this very carefully over the next few months,” to see how much extra staffing actually will be needed, whenever the regional district gets state permission to reopen its 10 schools, the superintendent said.
By law, budget increases over 2 percent require a public referendum. The district will avert that by tapping a “banked cap.” That’s leeway allowed by the state in narrow circumstances, for factors including health costs and rising enrollment, Pendergrast said.
Board members Vij Pawar and Meredith Davidson voted against the budget. With many residents struggling economically during the coronavirus, Pawar said, this is the wrong time for increases.
“People can’t afford their mortgages, businesses are closing. We should do what we can with what we have, rather than raising taxes,” he said.
“The budget is lean. It’s a disciplined plan” that retains small class sizes, along with the teachers responsible for students’ academic success, Pendergrast told trustees.
The amount to be raised from local taxes is $95.3 million, roughly three-quarters of the budget. The district has no debt.
TO PRE-K, OR NOT TO PRE-K…
The district now gets $14 million in state aid. About $6.6 million of that supports an expanded Pre-K program that provides 535 free seats for 3- and 4-year-olds. The district has budgeted $540,000 to transport these young pupils.
Research indicates pre-kindergarten makes a huge difference in children’s educational development, said Pendergrast, expressing hopes the program remains intact.
Capital projects — including $1.4 million to replace the turf and track at the high school, and $644,000 for security vestibules — are on hold. Money earmarked for ActivPanel classroom technology for elementary schools can be shifted, if necessary, the superintendent said.
Pawar asked whether administrators explored salary freezes or other measures to hold the line.
While many options were explored, “we’re kind of flying blind” without knowing the amount of state aid, Pendergrast responded,
“Any place where we might cut, we might put ourselves, and our students and our families, in a difficult position, a dangerous position. If we cut transportation for Pre-K, then we have no Pre-K.”
Board member Alan Smith called it a balanced budget. While board member Melissa Spiotta agreed with Pawar that increases are hard to swallow right now, she said this spending plan gives the board flexibility to make adjustments later, when state aid is re-calibrated.
The meeting began on a somber note. Pendergrast remembered Berma Haynes and Darell Johnson, both victims of COVID-19 who had worked for the district.
“Berma always thought I was too serious, so she always made a point to try to make me laugh. I’m grateful for that,” he said of the administrative assistant, who retired two years ago.
Johnson, who was laid to rest on Monday, worked in the guidance office.
“The only thing I can say about Darell is what everybody says about him: He was the kindest person I ever met,” Pendergrast said.
The district is required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to investigate whether Johnson contracted COVID-19 on the job, said Board member Linda Murphy.
