School budget faces ax P'burg recommends deep cuts to district finances Friday, May 18, 2007 • By DANIEL HAUSMANN • The Express-Times PHILLIPSBURG | Town council recommended the school district cut one position, cut the salary on another and hire four security guards Thursday night. The board recommended eliminating the position of director of whole school reform and special projects held by Marian Trapani. Council also suggested the board reduce the salary of a high school vice principal after current vice principal Bill Nixon retires in late June. "We didn't want to affect student learning," Councilman Jim Shelly said. "There's enough staff to pick up (Trapani's) duties." Superintendent Gordon Pethick said his district is operating exceptionally as one of New Jersey's 31 poorest school systems and called the cuts ludicrous. "What we're seeing is a degeneration of the quality of the program," Pethick said. "It's going to significantly impede the progress we can achieve." Shelly, James Stettner and council president Dave DeGerolamo voted for the recommendations. Bill Merrick recused himself from the proceedings because he is a district employee. John Damato was absent from Thursday's meeting. Because voters rejected the school district's $61 million local portion of its 2007-08 budget, council had to suggest changes to the spending plan. Those recommendations now go to the school board for approval. Council's suggestions would cut the proposed average $62 tax hike by $17. The board can accept the council's plan or make its own line item cuts. No matter what, the school board has to cut about $161,000 from the budget by Monday. Council's plan would cut Trapani's $130,525 salary and reduce Nixon's $119,982 salary to about $89,000 for his successor. Business manager Bill Poch said the $30,000 cut in the vice principal's salary was too steep. Pethick did not know where Trapani would end up in the district; she has tenure rights. She did not return a call for comment. Poch said she was overworked already and the loss of her position would affect the quality of educational programs in the district. The school district had already presented about $160,000 in savings to the council in the form of retirements and a tuition rebate from Warren County Special Services District. Council recommended the district use that savings to hire four full-time security guards for Green Street, Andover-Morris and Barber elementary schools. Council also suggested the district give a custodial supervisor a $19,000 raise to cover off-hour incidents and restored $22,000 in middle school educational supplies. Council members spent about three weeks pouring over the over half-foot thick stack of documents provided by the district after the budget failed. They were confident their recommendations would hold up. "I think we've made a valid statement for them," DeGerolamo said. Pethick said if he had a vote, the district would cut the tax levy with the $160,000 in retirement and tuition savings. "I would hope that our board would look at the responsibilities to the education program," Pethick said. Reached by phone Thursday night, school board president Paul Rummerfield said council's suggestions are all things that the board can look at. "I think the board will be open to discussion," Rummerfield said. Shelly, as a former board member, has served on both sides of a school budget. He thinks council's cuts can be absorbed by the district. "Unfortunately they should have worked harder on getting their budget passed," Shelly said. "They've cut staff in the past; this time around administration has to take a cut." Reporter Daniel Hausmann can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at dhausmann@express-times.com. © 2007 The Express-Times. Used with permission.