Letter: BOE Candidate Tries to 'Follow the Money'

To the Editor:

This November, many school board elections in NJ will be held along with the national elections. Citizens in Lacey Township seem to be unaware of this change. Taxpayers need to pay attention. It’s bad enough voters have lost the right to vote for the school tax levy but please don’t forget to vote for board members.

Here are some quick facts about the current school district budget in Lacey.

• 2012-2013 Anticipated Budget total is $70,599,335.
• Number of students served: 4,628 (Sept. 2012 Superintendent’s Report)

That’s a lot of money and a very high per pupil cost ($12,869). Administration will say we are below the state average but I don’t care about the state averages. Lacey Township is unique and cannot and should not be compared with hundreds of other Districts throughout the State.

Status quo board members serving for years and years have become very accustomed to raising our taxes almost annually. This past year, quite a tidy sum ($4.1 million) was left over in 2011-2012 budget. Here’s an example of the money movement for 2012:

Lacey BOE 2011-2012 Budget transfers (all info from published Board agendas/minutes)

• April 23 Budget Transfers: $264,800.
• May 21 Budget Transfers:  $1,246,787. 
• June 18 Budget Transfers:  $964,640. July 16 Budget Transfers: $1,275,321.
• August 20 Budget Transfers: $364,400

Five months of “bare bones” budget transfers amount to: $4,115,948.

Question: Why do taxes get raised if there was this much money to shuffle in the 2011-2012 budget??

More people should attend the monthly Board meetings. See if you can follow the money. Every third Monday of the month, 7:30 p.m. in the Lecture Hall at Lacey HS. If you want to speak to the Superintendent, she can be reached on 609-971-2000.

Regina Discenza