Business as Usual: Still No Budget and Waiting on the Promise of a Public Meeting

Mar 2, 2023

It’s business as usual, with the current school district budget for 2023-24 – A state secret that can’t be released to the public.

-Sai Akiri

Last year the business administrator Ms. Kot, superintendent Dr. Varley, along with Previous Board President Mr. D’Aquilla and then Vice President Penna, denied sharing the complete tentative budget with the entire Board until the budget vote. Before the board vote, the public only saw a “user-friendly” version of the tentative budget. As a board member last year, I needed to understand the super secretive process and questioned the sharing of budget documents a day before the public vote on March 17, 2022. Also, the tentative budget information needed to be completed as it did not include the latest enrollment data. I voted NO on the tentative budget and explained my reasons. Then board president Mr. D’Aquilla and vice president Ms. Penna promised a more open budget process this year.

We were promised increased transparency and community engagement after an incomplete budget was shared days before the tentative budget was voted on last year.

But it’s March 2, 2023, and there has yet to be an announcement from the district administration or the board president Ms. Penna about the tentative budget. Ms. Penna promised a public finance committee meeting this year, and the Board needs to share the complete budget information with the public who are expected to pay the bill.

Parents and Residents deserve a clear timeline of events in preparation of the school budget. Presenting the budget is one of the core responsibilities of the business administrator Ms. Kot and the Superintendent Dr.Varley. But as an ex NJSBA representative said “Berkeley Heights school district seems to have a culture of stonewalling the very public that is expected to pay the bill.” Last year parents had to submit OPRA requests to the Dept of Education in Trenton to receive a copy of the complete budget as OPRA requests to the district and emails to the county superintendent were answered with a “user-friendly” budget.

Now in stark contrast, look at our neighboring district New Providence which has well documented budget process timeline and posted it on its district website.

The New Providence board of education discussed the key items on their tentative draft budget at their February 23, 2023, meeting. Their finance and facilities committee shared the tentative draft budget for 2023-24 with the entire Board and spoke of the next steps. As I write this article, I wonder if our tentative budget has even been shared with the entire Board.

Governor Murphy released the budget for 2024 on February 28, 2023.

The state aid numbers will be shared with all school districts in two days. But as you can see from our neighboring district New Providence, the business administrator and superintendent should have a draft budget version ready for the finance and facilities committee to share with the entire Board for review in 3rd week of February. (Draft budget is prepared based on requests from building principals, special services athletic departments, etc by November/December.) They keep the state aid numbers flat or a placeholder based on past years until the 4th Tuesday in February when the Governor releases the budget. Once the state aid numbers are released, they are plugged into the tentative draft budget.

The superintendent and business administrator cannot deny sharing the tentative budget information citing the lame excuse that state aid numbers are unavailable. Most well-run school districts have this process in place.

The Board must hold the business administrator Ms. Kot and superintendent Dr. Varley accountable for presenting the complete budget information to taxpayers in a timely fashion. The finance and facilities committee chair, Ms. Joy Young, must present the complete tentative budget information to the residents ASAP. This will enable the public to review and provide feedback. I hope that taxpaying residents will get more than three minutes to provide feedback or questions on this year’s tentative budget.

In the spirit of transparency, the Board must publish the schedule and agenda of all committee meetings, especially the finance and facilities committee, and minutes on the district website.