BY MICHAEL ACKER
Staff Writer

SOUTH RIVER - The Board of Education has adopted a budget that calls for a 28-cent increase in the school tax rate but that will help reduce class sizes officials say are way above state standards.

The 2006-07 budget, adopted unanimously by the board March 28, would see the owner of property assessed at the borough average of $81,200 paying $230 more next year for the school portion of the property tax bill. Residents will vote on the budget on April 18.

The general fund budget totals $20,629,488, which would be supported by $11,605,839 in local taxes.

The budget includes four new middle school teachers, replacement computers and more AP (advanced placement) programs for students.

Superintendent of Schools Ronald Grygo said the new teachers are needed to relieve crowding in seventh- and eighth-grade classrooms. He said the average number of students in those classes is 30 or more, while the state average is approximately 21.

If voters turn down the budget, Grygo said, the board will not be able to hire the instructors, who would teach science, mathematics, history and English. If the budget does pass, the board will be able to reduce class sizes in those grades, he said.

Board member Karl Haider said the proposed tax increase was brought about partly due to state legislation known as S-1701, which forced school boards to use more surplus funds in last year's budget, leaving little to be used to defray this year's tax increase.

"There are a lot of angry parents [who are] upset over S-1701," Haider said.

Board member Rick Rosenberg Jr. said the flat level of state aid over the past four years and the property tax increases it has brought about in school districts across the state represents a step backward.

"My family is slowly moving out of this state," Rosenberg said. "They cannot afford it anymore. It is unfair."

Rosenberg said the federal and state governments are pushing the bulk of the cost burden onto local school districts, leaving towns like South River in a constant struggle to hold the line on spending even when expenses are deemed necessary for education.

Borough Councilman Raymond Eppinger, who spoke during the public portion of the meeting, congratulated the board on its budget. Though these are difficult financial times for residents, he said the community would not want to see a defeated school budget.

Raritan Avenue resident Bill Sellar agreed with board members that state and federal legislators are to blame for the tax increase. He said he believes the board has done all it can to keep costs down.

"Nobody likes their taxes to go up," Sellar told the Sentinel, "but the Board of Education has been as fiscally sound as any board could be."

He went on to say that he understands the concerns of senior citizens and others on fixed incomes who would struggle with such a tax increase, but added that he hopes the budget is approved by voters on April 18.

"It seems like a sound budget," Sellar said. "If anything, it is little too tight, but they cannot spend any more money than they [already] are and if they spend any less, it is going to adversely affect the education that the student are going to get."

Kelly Cruz, president of the PTA at the primary school, said she also supports the school budget adopted by the board.

"Our schools are in desperate need of additional resources," Cruz said, "and parents should be aware that the state has not only frozen our aid, but has decreased it by $17,000 this coming year. This is a significant loss for a township that is already operating at the lowest per-pupil cost in the state."

South River's per pupil cost is just over $8,000, according to Grygo, who noted that the comparative spending guide of the state Department of Education pegged last year's state average at $11,000.

Cruz added that the borough has been able to hold down taxes while adding AP courses at the high school, establishing online study programs, and building a new primary school building.

"I feel we cannot punish our children," Cruz said, "simply because the state is not contributing their share."