Meeting mask-free for the first time in two years, the Morris School District board on Monday praised administrators for the 2022-23 proposed budget and honored former member Leonard Posey.
“It’s going to put us in a good place to come out of COVID, now that COVID’s over, right?” board President Melissa Spiotta said of the spending plan, anticipated at $122 million, with a 1.6 percent spending increase that is below the 2 percent state cap.
The “average” Morris Township homeowner (home assessed at $560,000) will pay an extra $170 in annual school taxes–about $14 more per month–if the budget is approved next month.
An average Morristown homeowner (home assessed at $357,595) will see an annual increase of just under $18, which works about to about $1.50 more per month.
Approximately 82 percent of the regional district’s budget is funded by local taxpayers. Under a complex “equalization” formula, Township homeowners shoulder about two-thirds of that burden.
A public hearing is scheduled for April 25, 2022. No referendum is required, however, because the budget is under cap.
For an hour on Monday, administrators highlighted plans to address students’ pandemic learning loss, bolster anti-racist and inclusion policies, and perform $9 million of capital improvements and $1.1 million of maintenance projects–while remaining debt-free.
Board Vice President Linda Murphy congratulated them for “funding all of the needs of our diverse student body,” and expressed disappointment that few residents came to hear about it. The audience at Morristown High consisted mainly of a few district personnel.
Unlike the governing bodies of Morristown and Morris Township, which are conducting hybrid meetings, the school board does not livestream its sessions or post video recordings for the public’s convenience.
‘WE WRITE NO ONE OFF’
Spanning 201 acres and 1.28 million square feet of interior space, the Morris district’s 10 schools serve 5,700 pupils from Morristown, Morris Township and (high school only) Morris Plains, which pays tuition. The district employs about 1,000 people.
Roughly 7 percent of district operations are underwritten by the state, and about 5 percent is funded from the district’s surplus, according to Interim Superintendent Thomas Ficarra. He praised Business Administrator Anthony LoFranco for fiscal prudence.
“I lost a pen once and he sent me a bill for it,” Ficarra cracked.
The interim said the district has not borrowed money for 20 years, stretching back to when he was hired as full-time superintendent. As a result, the district now has the ability to borrow up to $258 million, should any needs arise, an auditor told the board on Monday.
Listing a slew of prestigious universities that accepted Morristown High grads last year, Ficarra asserted this “island of diversity” compares favorably with private schools. “If you are aiming for the best, Morristown High is the school for you.”
Yet he stressed the budget “is designed to support all the students, all the children, at all stages.
“We leave no one out. We write no one off. Not the economically disadvantaged, not the immigrants, not the minorities, and not those who can afford (private schools) but choose our rich and diverse quality school system…We develop a budget that has all our children in our mind’s eye.”
That includes programs to address student learning loss stemming from virtual instruction during the pandemic, Ficarra said.
In-person class time was reduced by 75 percent last year for students in Morristown High School and Frelinghuysen Middle School, and by 50 percent in the district’s eight elementary schools, according to Ficarra.
Tests comparing K-5 students’ math and language performance against norms for their grade levels found wide disparities between Asians and white students, the top scorers; and Blacks, Hispanics, economically disadvantaged students, and pupils learning English as a second language. Similar gaps have been identified in the secondary schools.
Remedies include a virtual tutoring program called Paper, assignment of three teachers for math support this fall, creation of a “parent academy” to enlist parents in this support effort, and addition of a bilingual specialist, administrators said.
Three bilingual positions are coming to the elementary schools, and someone will be hired to oversee a cadre of 16 unpaid social worker interns from area colleges, the board was toid.
Ficarra praised the district for a 2017 shift from school bus contractors to an in-house fleet now numbering 83 vehicles and 75 drivers and aides. This has averted “nightmare scenarios” experienced nationwide by schools facing driver shortages and exorbitant rates, he said.
PLAQUE FOR POSEY
The meeting began with accolades and a plaque for Leonard Posey, who stepped down from the board in 2019 when he retired from a global consulting firm and moved to Miami. He now is president of a charter school board there.
Posey served here for 17 years, from 1997-2006, and 2011-2019, variously representing Morristown and Morris Township. Mayor Tim Dougherty proclaimed “Leonard Posey Day” in Morristown in October 2019.
Posey returns for periodic visits, and attended on Monday night.
Ficarra said the former board president still follows district happenings, and veteran members lauded him for his wisdom and friendship.
Posey’s advice at all hours during board crises “was truthful, careful, well reasoned, and always kind,” said Nancy Bangiola. “So we are glad you’re happy in Florida, but we miss you a lot.”
Alan Smith, appointed to fill Posey’s unexpired term, described him as a Black role model. “You took me under your wing,” said Smith, the only African American on the board.
Meredith Davidson said Posey schooled her not “to do anything crazy and wind up with your name in the headlines.”
“Leonard Posey is the best mentor in the world,” added Murphy, the board vice president, recounting his guidance when she decided to run in 2018. Other recent members had stories of welcoming phone calls–except for the newest one.
“You never called me!” said Vivian Rodriguez, with mock indignation.
“I’ll call you tomorrow!” promised Posey, to laughter.
Absolutely!
Just taxpayers supporting developers, a simple transfer of wealth upwards.
Any time you hear the school board discuss an increase in taxes, think back to the number of PILOT exemptions awarded to developers by the Town of Morristown.