If Aid Holds, Freehold Borough School District Looking at $400K Budget Deficit

With the release of projected state aid numbers, Freehold Borough School District Board Administrator Patrick DeGeorge is hopeful that the Board of Education won’t be looking at a $1 million budget deficit.

“Obviously, if what we’re seeing and hearing is true, then the deficit that we’re facing is certainly far less than the worst case scenario. It would be around $400,000,” DeGeorge said.

The New Jersey Department of Education released state aid figures yesterday that estimate Freehold Borough receiving $8,529,128 for the 2011-2012 school year. While the amount represents a $173,947 increase in aid from last year, DeGeorge noted that the district saw a $120,000 reduction in preschool and debt service aid for 2011-2012

“We’re looking at an increase (in state aid) of less than $60,000,” DeGeorge said.

The district expects to receive $305,000 in federal money from a jobs bill that gave $10 billion to states to avoid teacher layoffs.

While the state aid numbers were not as drastic as DeGeorge expected, he said privatizing of custodial and support staff remains a possibility if the district’s budget is defeated in April.

“We’re in the process of trying to get to the bottom line with the least amount of damage. If the board goes out with a two percent tax levy and the budget is defeated down to zero, that’s another $160,000,” DeGeorge said. “[A deficit over $500,000] is a hard number to solve without some drastic measure. That might mean the privatization of one or both.”

DeGeorge noted that the district’s budget is still tentative and that anything can and will change as the business office continues to work with the numbers. He hopes in the future that Freehold Borough will see increased state aid.

“With a district like ours, we're hoping to see some recognition of the fact that we’re severely underfunded. It’s not like we’re a Bergen County district that just relies on tax levy to support the budget, and we’re not an Abbott district. We’re still struggling to put text books in the classroom. I'm hopeful in the future that we’ll keep going in the right direction. (with increased state aid),” DeGeorge said.