Policy 6220 – Your Right to the Budget Process

Is the District Violating Its Policies in Locking the Public Out of The Budget Process?

Most Berkeley Heights residents can agree that the Berkeley Heights Public School Budget has been an embarrassing process for our community for the past two years. There is still much to unpack, and it is most helpful to parse out the concerns in a digestible manner for a public busy at work trying to pay for this monstrosity.

Today I would like to focus on one small but important piece:

 “A proposed budget requires the critical analysis of every member of the Board during its preparation. The administration shall work with the Board to ensure Board members have a thorough understanding of the budget appropriations, budget revenue, the proposed educational program and the budget’s impact to the local tax levy.  The Board shall also provide for community input during the budget development process.  Once the budget is adopted by the Board and approved by the Executive County Superintendent, the Board members shall inform the community on the details of the budget.”

This is policy 6220 from our District’s policy and procedure manual and I would call your attention to the item in bold. This policy is based on state regulations that all public schools must abide by. The standard isn’t that the budget is provided to the public after the fact but that the public be involved in the actual development of the budget. Compare these words with the process we’ve experienced over the last two years.

The public had to resort to OPRA both times to receive the budget AFTER the fact, and the entire BOE only had access to the full budget last year 24 hours before the vote. This year the time frame increased to 5 days to review and provide feedback to a 63 Million Dollar Budget.  

Parents, Students, and Teachers need to be concerned about why the District so flagrantly violates its own policies and procedures in keeping the budget away from the public and the very BOE Members who are expected to vote on it.

Policy 6220:

My Full Email to the Board: