MOUNT OLIVE (3/31/09) – In a meeting that lasted less than two hours, the Board of Education last night unanimously passed the $74,264,838 budget for 2009-10 with little fanfare from an audience much subdued compared to the public response when it was introduced earlier this month.  About 60 people attended the meeting.

      Superintendent Dr. Larrie Reynolds started the public hearing with a power point presentation, walking those in attendance through the efforts taken by the board, administrators, principals and other interested parties about how the budget was developed. When all was said and done the budget was $2,079,000 higher than last year but well within the cap leveled by the State. 

       Mount Olive is the third largest among the 40 school districts in Morris County and ranks 24^th in per capita spending.  Dr. Reynolds said he believes that after all the schools adopt their final budgets Mount Olive’s cost per child will be even lower.

       The budget cost to taxpayers is about an additional $66 per $100,000 assessed valuation. It is the lowest increase in school costs since the year 2000. Dr. Reynolds also pointed out that $73% of the budget amounts are mandated by contractual and state mandated costs.

     The budget will appear on the ballot in two questions, the first being the main budget and the second for an additional $535,402 for restoring services that were eliminated last year. Dr. Reynolds said that after he and the board heard from many parents and students they came to believe the services should be restored if they could find a way.  And Dr. Reynolds found the way.

    The way he found was to eliminate the titles of all eight central office department chairs in grades 6 thru 12, also one central office secretary and the assistant superintendent for curriculum and personnel.  These savings amounted to $895,128.

     Also cut were five regular education aides, $167,480; a high school secretary, $50,426; access stipends, $7,200; the hall monitor stipend at the high school, $7,561; elimination of a part time Chinese teacher due to low enrollment, $40,827; and elimination of a German teacher at the high school, $89,984.

     Dr. Reynolds explained that the German language will still be an option for students but the teacher will have other classes.

     The budget also includes the elimination of an art teacher, $63,795; closing the buildings in the summer one day a week, $36,613 and reducing one contracted bus run, $7,667

      The budget restores middle school sports programs, adds elementary guidance, library and instructional supervisor positions, a full and part time special education teachers, a full time equivalent teacher for high school science and a part time for Spanish, an additional basic skills teacher at the Middle School, a social worker, middle school computer labs in all elementary schools, 100 new computers for the  high school, new textbooks, replacement of furniture in the Mountain View and Sandshore Schools, choir risers for the high school, a few new musical instruments for the high school band and a new roof for the Mountain View school and needed maintenance and transportation equipment. The $103,828 to repair the roof at the Mountain View School, a failed budget item for several years, is being offset by a $72,116 state government grant.

      Approval of the second question will mean funding one nurse the return of middle school sports programs a nurse who will work at the high school and middle school; funding bus drivers’ salaries to maintain current school time schedules; funding of eight department supervisors in the high school and funding for the transportation expense for the ice hockey athletic program at the high school.

      Joseph Fleischner, a retired pharmacist and candidate for the board asked the first question in the public hearing.  He commended Dr. Reynolds and then asked the question, “how come it took you so long?’’

       Board President Mark Werner explained that this year for the first time the board actually had a five member budget committee, all of whom put in countless hours starting in the fall of last year.  After last year (second question defeated) we knew it was time to make a serious change…”the status quo was no longer acceptable.”  It takes time to make the kind of changes we’re making and even with the dramatic changes Dr. Reynolds has led us to, it’s only just the beginning.

       Trustee Anthony Strillacci picked up from there stressing the difficulty the board had last year in having to let 45 teachers and 25 teacher aides go. It is extremely difficult to make those kind of decisions,” he said “I have to give Mark credit, he started the process and it has worked out tremendously and  Dr. Reynolds came along to give us good direction.”

     From a flyer distributed at the meeting it stated what the Mount Olive schools will be defined by:

      That recalls a talk he gave at an introductory presentation to the Township Council.  He was the first schools superintendent to do it.  He promised a rich and challenging curriculum for our students, optimum working conditions for our staff and a more effective use of time by  our students.

      He promised to produce much better results with a higher academic rating for all of the schools, higher SAT scores, more students signing up for advanced placement exams, more extensive college access and a better educational facility from which students can launch their adult lives.

     He told the Council that he and the school administration were taking the school system in a new direction, a more effective system financially and learning experience for the stuentrs.  “I pledge to you that the schools in Mount Olive will be better tomorrow than they are today,” he said.