Funding Wayne’s Number One Issue

April 15, 2010

 Six school board candidates want to find other ways to pay for education as the district reels from the loss of $6.6 million in state aid and ensuing cuts in the 2010-11 budget.

Challengers to incumbents for the three seats also are calling for swift appointment of a permanent superintendent to bring stability and guidance in tough times. And all candidates want to ensure the board fulfills a promise of new and better service for gifted and talented pupils after phasing out a current elementary school program.

The field includes two incumbents: board President Robert Ceberio and Cindy Simon. Doreen Continanza, former administrative assistant to the business administrator, and former Special Services Coordinator Mitchell Badiner are teamed up. Gail Okun, associate vice president of advisement at Berkeley College, and attorney Allan Mordkoff also are seeking their first terms.

Marlene Polinik is not running for reelection.

Ideas to generate or save money range from hiring a grant writer to creating more in-house special education programs to curb reliance on outside tuition-based services. Pursuing corporate sponsorship and alternative-energy projects are other suggestions.

For example, Ceberio said the district recently contracted installation of solar panels at half the 14 schools, an idea he’s pushed since coming to the board four years ago. "It’s going to save us $200,000 to $300,000 a year," he said.

Simon favors exploring even more alternative energy, such as wind power or converting cafeteria vegetable oil into biodiesel for district buses. She proposed going "paperless" by e-mailing fliers to parents instead of sending them home with students.

The development of more in-house special-education programs has provoked extensive discussion.

"We send a number of [special ed students] out of district, and it’s a pretty significant cost when you look at tuition and the bus transportation costs," Mordkoff said. "If you keep those kids in-house you save on transportation, but let’s also bring kids from outside the district here. We have the facilities and the ability to be a mecca for special education. Even if it means hiring more teachers, it would be more than worth it."

Badiner, director of instruction for the Bergen County Special Services School District, wants to use his experience to help develop more in-house programs.

"I have the level of expertise in understanding how we do those things," Badiner said.

He proposed generating more revenue by using the Preakness school building for such programs, rather than leasing it out as planned.

"If we average $50,000 a student [in tuition] and if we were to bring 12 students back to a new program, we would save $600,000," Badiner said.

Ceberio agrees hundreds of thousands of dollars could be saved with new special ed programs. He wants audits of current programs and the overall budget "to f ind out what it working and what is not working," and how more children could be educated in the district.

Grant writer

Challengers including Okun and Mordkoff also said its time to hire a grant writer to pursue funding. But incumbents Simon and Ceberio cautioned that chasing grants could put the district in a tight spot in following years.

Simon favors pursuing grants for one-time costs such as technology, or to start new programs, including special ed, that could eventually pay for themselves. Ceberio said the district should continue to pursue corporate sponsorships, an idea backed by several candidates, including Continanza, who said "the district needs to start thinking outside the box" in generating revenue.

Some of the challengers say the district could better handle its budget crisis with steadier leadership. In the last five years, the district has had three interim superintendents and two "permanent" chiefs. The board is now interviewing candidates for the open post.

Continanza said she’s concerned interim superintendents "only keep the district at the status quo" and aren’t as vested as permanent chiefs in fiscal process.

"When you have ownership of the budget, it’s not just ‘How do we get to this number,’ " she said. "They have a more personal feeling about it because they are going to be there for the long term and they are going to have to work with that budget for next year."

Okun agreed budgeting could have been easier if there had been a long-term superintendent in place with acumen on where cuts could best be absorbed. Mordkoff said he wants the superintendent search prioritized agai n.

But Simon and Ceberio disagreed with their challengers. When the district faces more than $9 million in budget cuts, "you don’t want the superintendent to act as decision maker; you want everyone who has been involved in using that budget to be part of the process," Simon said.

Ceberio said "The budget process worked so well because we included every principal, every director, we included the union. I don’t think we lost anything … one person does not make a district." But he noted that the board has conducted the first round of interviews with superintendent candidates and could make a decision soon after the election.

Okun said her first concern is that voters support the tax levy on Tuesday so the district doesn’t face more cuts. She added she’s more worried after Governor Christie urged voters to reject levies in districts where teachers rebuffed his call to take pay freezes.

"If you vote for the budget, at least we will have what we have now," she said. "If you don’t vote for the budget, we are not going to even have that: We are going to have to make more cuts."