Less Bureaucracy, More Education. Vote NO.
Vote NO on the April 17th $77,500,000 school budget.
Unelected school administrators, who don?t live in town nor have children in our schools, have mismanaged our school budgets.
Enrollment grew by only 18 students this school year and next year the elementary school population is forecast to decline by 70 students, yet the proposed 2007-2008 budget is $5,200,000 over the current school year budget, an increase of 7.2%.
For that extra $5,200,000, we are getting no new teachers, no new books, no new curriculum, but we are getting new, non-education-related expenses and inexplicably high healthcare premiums.
Over the last six years, the school budget has grown from $45,400,000 to $77,500,000. This 71% increase far surpasses the 13% increase in enrollment.
Over the last 10 years, the school budget has grown from 40% of our property taxes to over 52%.
The only thing preventing the school budget from reaching $100,000,000 within three years is your NO Vote.
Before you cast your ballot, consider the following:
- Why won't the Administration tell us why spending on outside consultants and layers of management has soared?
- Why did the Administration and some on the Board of Ed bristle at shopping for lower healthcare costs (up 18% or 9 times inflation)?
- What does the proposed budget do to equalize the wide disparity in class sizes among the
elementary schools?
- Which elementary schools will be closed due to declining enrollments at the elementary level and the mismanagement of the district's finances?
- Why are we spending $21,000,000 to increase school capacity now when the administration has finally acknowledged enrollments are declining and the existence of barely filled classrooms in some of the elementary schools?
- What does the proposed budget do to reduce the millions of dollars collectively spent each year by parents on outside tutoring?
- Last year, voters defeated 47% of all New Jersey school budgets. Schools did not close. Education did not stop.
- Voting NO sends the school budget to our elected members of the Township Committee who will study it, modify it and pass it. They will support the curriculum while addressing issues of fiscal mismanagement.
Send a message. On April 17, a NO vote on the budget is a YES vote for fiscal responsibility and a YES vote for our children's education.
Vote NO April 17th. It's time for accountability.
WeLoveMillburn.com
April 11, 2007
