Clinton Township Newsletter

1 6 m a y 2 0 1 9 w w w . C L I N T O N T W P N E W S L E T T E R . c o m C L I N T O N T O W N S H I P S C H O O L N E W S www.ctsdnj.org A L e t t e r f r o m Michele Cone, Superintendent of Schools Clinton Township Board of Education Approves Flat Preliminary Budget for the 2019-2020 School Year On March 18, 2019, Michael Falkowski, School Business Administrator and I presented a proposed preliminary budget for the 2019-2020 school year that will remain flat to the Board of Education. The Board of Education approved the preliminary budget by a vote of 8-0. The ability to develop a flat budget was the result of the district right-sizing its staff in accordance with a decline in our enrollment and with the savings achieved, approximately $800,000, through a reorganization during the summer of 2018. – Budget Development Process – The 2019-2020 preliminary budget for the Clinton Township School District development began this past fall with the administration, staff and members of the Board of Education identifying and prioritizing specific needs in the classroom, the needs of our facilities and our operational needs. I collaborated with the Business administrator, Michael Falkowski, and other committees such as the district's Curriculum, Personnel, Negotiations and Facilities and Finance committees to talk about specific needs within their committee's area. This annual process is one of checks and balances where the district always considers the needs of the students. The process of developing a budget must also pass Board of Education approval prior to submission to the Executive County Superintendent, Juan Torres, and the Department of Education. A final budget hearing is scheduled for April 29, 2019, 7:30 pm at the Clinton Township Middle School auditorium. The Board of Education will again vote on the final budget. A number of items must be considered when developing the budget. This year our loss of $1,996,974 in State Aid, a decrease of $23,673 from FY19, and our increase in expenditures of $538,921 were factors to consider. Yet, with these limitations, the preliminary budget maintains existing class size, academic offerings, extra curricular activities, professional development and improvement in transportation; while building in fiscally responsible salary increases; as well as continuing to maintain and improve district facilities while not increasing taxes for our community members. A question community members often ask is: where does the money go that we are paying into our local schools? The budget provides for student needs, facilities upgrades and repairs, security enhancements, technology upgrades and replacements, instructional supplies, transportation, professional development and staff salary and benefit costs. – Professional Development – The district is committed to excellence in education and supporting our staff through ongoing professional development. Since September 2018, $70,000 has been spent on professional development for the staff including six Professional Development Days. In addition, 200 staff members have attended over 150 workshops this year. In-house professional development in English Language Dear Clinton Township Community Members: Arts, Math, Problem-Based Learning, Harassment, Intimidation & Bullying, Social Emotional Learning, Sarah Buxton our On-Site Trainer in Teacher's College Reader's and Writer's Workshop from Columbia University. The district also offers the staff tuition reimbursement for continuing graduate education. The Clinton Township School District is committed to being fiscally responsible while providing the highest quality education to our students. – Academic Programs – The budget also includes strong academic programs for our students in Go Math (K-5), Standards Based Curriculum Illustrative Math (Grade 6) Readers & Writers Workshop (K- 8) Foss Science Discovery Ed Tech Books (Grade 7 & 8) Mystery Science, Social Studies − My World History (Grades 5 & 6) − Discovering Our Past (Grades 7 & 8) , Renaissance Benchmark Assessment System ,Unified Arts- Art, Music, World Language, STEAM/STEM, Physical Education/Health and Library. Students have access to a wide variety of technology. The budget includes support of the 1:1 Chromebook Program Grades 6 – 8 , a refresh of student Chromebooks, a refresh staff Mac Laptops, Chromebook Carts Pre K - Grade 5, iPads, Fire Tablets & other devices, Robotics, Coding, Design Lab and TV Studio. – Extra Curricular Programs – Extra curricular programs that provide enrichment to our students are included in the budget. Programs such as Character Education, Responsive Classroom, Words of Wisdom, Pillars of Character, ABC Days Enrichment Programs, TREP$, Law Adventure, Field Trips, Relay For Life, Math, Geography Bee Clubs, Video, Ski Club, Golden Eagle and Camerata Singers, Gardening and more! Our sports programs include soccer, cross country, basketball, volleyball, golf, lacrosse, baseball and softball. – Facilities Improvements – Included in the budget are facilities expenditures of $2,693,409 necessary to continue to maintain, improve and modernize buildings and grounds. These improvements include HVAC (Air Conditioning) at Patrick McGaheran School, bathroom renovations and additions at Patrick McGaheran School, carpet removal with tile replacement at the Round Valley School, security upgrades at all four schools and the development of a long range facilities plan for the next five years. – Managing Declining Enrollment – One of the challenges the district is facing like so many other districts in New Jersey is declining enrollment. The Clinton Township School District projects a decrease of 62 students for the 2019-2020 school year which represents two class sections. Over the last ten years, the district has seen a decrease of 557 students. While costs go up and enrollment goes down, right-sizing of staff to match the student population occurs. In this year's budget a number of staff reductions are planned across the board to include teaching staff, support staff, custodial and maintenance staff and administration which include a number of retirements. These staffing reductions result in a savings of approximately $1.2M between salary ($875k) and benefits ($325k). ... continued next page Total Expenses

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