Board accepts state aid P'burg to receive $1.1 million increase. But district will forgo additional $6.6M that it sought. Tuesday, March 20, 2007 • By DANIEL HAUSMANN • The Express-Times PHILLIPSBURG | The Phillipsburg School Board decided to take the money and run. The school board voted to accept a $1.1 million hike in state aid Monday night and forgo pursuing an additional $6.6 million in funding. The board will host a public hearing on the proposed $61.4 million budget at Monday's school board meeting. Including municipal taxes, the average Phillipsburg homeowner would see his or her taxes go up by $107. The 7-cent hike on the tax rate is the largest school tax increase in a decade. The state mandated the school district raise taxes to cover a $271,000 cut in state aid. The state Department of Education gave New Jersey's 31 economically disadvantaged school districts, also known as Abbott districts, the option of taking a 3 percent hike in state aid or submitting a flat-funded budget and then appealing for court-mandated state assistance. The same thing happened during the 2006-07 budget process. Phillipsburg was flat-funded and asked for close to $10 million in state aid. After a lengthy appeals process, the district settled for $886,000. Administrators went through and cut a number of line items to drag this year's deficit down. Among the cuts were facility maintenance, new positions including elementary school security guards and possible layoffs. Superintendent Gordon Pethick did not give specifics on where the layoffs would be coming from. "They may be across a couple of areas," Pethick said. The elementary schools do not have security guards. Cutting that expense saved the district $250,000 and drew the ire of board members and the public. "I think it's utter stupidity," board member Frank Kish said. Former board member Irene Weller suggested the district raise taxes higher to cover the security guards. "In this day and age, to not have those security guards is wrong," Weller said. Pethick said raising taxes for the guards might not be possible because of state spending and taxing limits. "That was one of the hardest areas (to cut)," Pethick said. Kevin DeGerolamo cast the lone no vote on whether to introduce the budget. He said because the budget packets didn't arrive until Monday, he did not have enough time to go through the numbers. Board Vice President Tom McGuire has served on the budget and finance committee for six years. "They're all hard and this one was more difficult because the state is being more difficult," McGuire said. Last year's final budget came in at $59 million. Town taxpayers will vote on the school district budget April 17. Reporter Daniel Hausmann can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at dhausmann@express-times.com. . © 2007 The Express-Times. Used by NJ.com with permission.