The Westfield Public School's Board of Education took steps in the hopes of making next year's budget easier, by notifying officials that they expect the health care and special education portions of the budget to be higher than the state's formula for increases.
"We have to file with the county a placeholder in the budget for areas that are growing faster than the state thinks they ought to," said board vice president Julia Walker, the chairwoman of the finance committee.
The board will get more information from the state to begin its budget decisions for 2010-2011 next month, but this step had to be taken now, so the board approved it at Tuesday's meeting. Gov. Chris Christie will be delivering his budget address in mid-March and acting Education Commissioner Bret Schundler is expected to announce state aid figures on March 16.
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Based purely on a formula for the maximum tax increase the district is allowed, Westfield submitted a budget for $93.7 million.
During a briefing at Wednesday night's meeting of the Westfield High School Parent Teacher Student Organization, board member Richard Solomon said the finance committee is currently preparing several budget documents working with the numbers filed with the county education office. He said the documents will help for a final budget in the short time between Schundler's release of state aid numbers and final presentation of the budget before the April 20 vote. Solomon said the board is anticipating a reduction in aid, noting that Christie from the current anticipated state aid to Westfield.
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Based on the state's formula for these parts of the budget, the district is asking for possible exceptions to the $734,040 for health care and $754,310 for special education costs.
Those numbers are not final at all, Walker emphasized.
The next board of education meeting is on March 9, a change from the previous calendar. The board expects to look at projected enrollment for next year as a step towards developing the 2010-2011 budget.
Editor's Note: Westfield Patch Editor John Celock contributed to this report.
