Politics & Government

Little Silver School Election Primer: Know Your Proposed Budgets and Board Members

All the news a Little Silver resident can use to help them make their decision in the voting booth Wednesday.

When polls open for residents of Little Silver at 2 p.m. Wednesday, four questions will need answered through our democratic process.

Question 1

Who will represent Little Silver on the Red Bank Regional Board of Education?

Residents will have to choose between a math professor who is chair of his department at York College CUNY (D'Alotto), a former member of the Little Silver Board of Education who graduated through all of the Little Silver schools (Rosen) or a business administrator who has experience negotiating insurance plans (Koster).

You can meet them all via video here.

Find out what's happening in Little Silver-Oceanportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Question 2

Who should be on the Little Silver Board of Education?

Arthur Adamson, Stephanie Brannagan and Michael Grant all filed petitions to appear on the ballot. Stephanie Brannagan is the only incumbent running. As of press time, there are no known write-in campaigns.

Question 3

Is the proposed Red Bank Regional budget acceptable?

The proposed $23.9 million Red Bank Regional operating budget ($18.6 million of which will be raised by local tax levy) was decreased by 1.9 percent or $510,341 from last year.

Find out what's happening in Little Silver-Oceanportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A fact sheet on the school's website dated March 30 touts an 82 percent decrease of budget accounts.

Marianne Kligman, who handles public relations for Red Bank Regional, said "we're all praying for this to get passed. We had to make a lot of cuts."

Among those cuts were per pupil costs, which were decreased by 3.8 percent or $698 a student.  Clubs and activities were also slashed, and the treasurer position will be eliminated completely. The superintendent's paycheck will take a haircut, as will checks to substitute callers and employees in summer school programs.

Field trips and vocational school and special education private school placement contracts were cut among transportation costs. The district also saved money on postage by moving to a paperless newsletter.

Spending on tuition payments for out of district students (vocational schools and special education private schools) has increased under the proposed budget, as have costs for special education, professional development and benefits.

The budget will be funded 74.4 percent from property taxes, 12.6 percent from tuition revenue, 2.2 percent from state aid, 5.3 percent from federal grants and 5.5 percent from miscellaneous sources such as transportation fees, debt repayment and fund balance.

For a Little Silver home with an assessed value of $501,857, the proposed budget would mean a $64.94 increase to the taxpayer.

For more information on the Red Bank Regional budget, please visit the school's website.

Question 4

Is the proposed Little Silver K-8 Board of Education budget acceptable?

The proposed $11.2 million Little Silver K-8 budget would be supported by a $10.5 million local tax levy, according to a presentation available on the district's website.

The tax levy, which would be an increase of 1.9 percent or $196,338 over the amount raised in 2010, would mean an $80 yearly increase to residents with an assessed property value of $501,856.

However, the Little Silver Board of Education reports the budget for 2011 is actually $35,149 lower than last year.

The board explained why taxes are increasing while the budget is decreasing in a Q & A posted on their website:

The tax levy is being increased due to the lack of revenues such as state aid.  Since Little Silver did not receive any state aid last year, we were thrilled to learn that we will be receiving a net gain of approximately $90,000 for the 2011-2012 school year.  This is still significantly less than the $500,000+ received in prior years.  The costs within the budget also increase every year due to increases in contractual agreements and higher cost of utilities and other expenses, similar to your own homes.  However, the district has controlled spending and utilized cost saving efforts wherever possible. The budget being presented has been constructed to minimize the overall tax impact to residents without negatively affecting the educational program.

More information is available on the school district's website and on March 26.

Polls will be open in Little Silver between 2 and 9 p.m. Wednesday. Consult your sample ballot for your polling location.


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