By JOANNE L. PAPAIANNI
The Bradley Beach Borough Council and the Board of Education made a modest cut of $21,000 to the defeated school budget at a special meeting Monday night.
Council reviewed the budget over the weekend following a presentation last Thursday by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Wayne Turner.
Board President Paul Charette told Mayor Stephen Schueler that the most prudent cut for the board to make was to hire an aide in place of hiring a teacher for the next school year, resulting in a savings of $21,000.
The board had been planning to hire two full-time teachers.
The board’s $6.6 million budget was defeated in April.
Council members questioned board members about the $914,000 surplus alloted in the budget.
Dr. Turner explained that by law the board is allowed only 2 percent of it’s total budget as surplus and the remainder, if not used in next year’s budget, must be used as tax relief in the 2006/2007 budget.
The board only controls $127,000 of the surplus funds in this year’s budget.
When Council Woman Lori Marchak-Ortiz said she would like to see a teacher hired and the $21,000 taken from surplus, Charette countered that the money can only come from $127,000, or 2 percent, in this year’s surplus.
“That’s not a lot of money, we could have one student move into the district and eat it up,” he said.
Council members also asked about the possibility of cutting administrative costs, especially in the area of the business administrator. The district currently employs an interim business administrator and an assistant business administrator.
Charette told council that Business Administrator Dominic Correa is an interim administrator and is training the current assistant business administrator who will take over the post when his training is complete.
Correa also explained to council that a good portion of the board’s budget includes estimated tuition costs, which must be budgeted for even though exact figures may not be known for two years.
Councilman Gary Engelstad said, “This is a crazy process. This is a very tight budget, you have to plan for the unknown if you get 2 kids (move in) you could be in trouble.”
If the surplus, in excess of 2 percent, is not used for tuition payments or other expenses in next year’s budget, by law, it must be returned to tax payers as tax relief.
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