The Milltown Board of Education unanimously voted in favor of a preliminary $14.4 million spending plan last week that calls for a $395 tax increase on a home assessed at the borough’s average of $166,000.

The tentative budget includes cuts of six positions; however, school officials stressed that the spending plan is “very preliminary” and changes may still occur.

“This approval was needed for us to move forward with our application for a cap waiver,” said Schools Superintendent Linda Madison.

The board held a special meeting for Madison along with Business Administrator and board Secretary Loriann Dekovics to present to them and the public the preliminary budget on March 2 at the Parkview School.

They explained that the school district needs a tax waiver because the preliminary budget that they have put together for the 2010-11 school year will exceed the state’s cap of 4 percent.

“The anticipated tax point increase is 29 points, which is roughly 13 to 15 points above the 4 percent cap,” said Madison.

Each tax point is valued at $46,172, officials said.

Madison explained to the board and the public that the district was hurt by a legislative change this year in the tuition adjustment schedule — a reconciliation that occurs when the state audits the amount Milltown pays to send its high school students to Spotswood High School (SHS). Milltown’s tuition adjustment schedule had been on a three-year cycle and now has changed to a two-year cycle.

“[This means] we owe two years of tuition adjustments to Spotswood in one budget year,” said Madison.

The cost of tuition for the 2007-08 year is $228,831 and the cost of the 2008-09 year is $116,798. That increases the total to $722,000 the district has to pay for Spotswood tuition.

Included in that figure are added costs resulting from a rising enrollment of Milltown students at Spotswood High School. Milltown estimated sending 275 students in the 2009-10 budget, but currently has 289 students enrolled there. At the current tuition rate of $13,396 per student, this amounts to $188,000 in additional costs.

Further, the school district expects to have a total of 299 students at Spotswood in 2010- 11, meaning the board will have to budget for the tuition of 24 more students in 2010-11 than was budgeted for the current school year.

Madison explained that the additional students either left private schools to attend Spotswood or just recently moved into Milltown.

Dekovics said the district is anticipating a 15 percent cut in state aid due to Gov. Chris Christie’s executive order freezing $1.6 billion in unexpended state funds, including $475 million intended as state aid to school districts. The school district received $1.38 million in state aid for 2009-10. A loss of 15 percent reduces that amount by $207,000. However, officials are anticipating about $25,000 in extraordinary aid, meaning the total lost aid would be $182,000.

The district also anticipates the elimination of American Recovery Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds in the amount of $92,330.

Meanwhile, the district is facing $195,000 in increases to the special education tuition and transportation services and a $276,000 increase in employee health benefits costs, including unemployment compensation.

The six positions that would be eliminated include faculty, secretaries and custodians. Two special education aides would also be cut, saving the district $25,000. The district will save $30,000 by deferring its language arts textbook purchase. Also planned is $50,000 in cuts to the student activities and athletics fund, $45,000 in administrative costs, $40,000 in maintenance and operations costs, $10,000 in improvements to instruction services, and an $18,000 cut in capital outlay funds to purchase three Smart Boards.

“We are also losing two positions through attrition,” said Dekovics. Those include a read and recovery teacher and a media specialist.

Residents who attended the special meeting asked the board if it could further reduce administrative costs, since this does not affect the children as much as deferring textbooks and cutting funds from student activities and athletics.

Madison explained that administrative costs have already been reduced as much as possible, noting the removal of travel by administrators and postage costs of mailings to parents, and a salary freeze for the business administrator and superintendent.

Dekovics said that with the implementation of Eblast, or messages sent through emails, in 2009, the district can do away with mailings sent to homes.

Madison said the cuts that were made to the student activities and athletics fund, which amounted to $110,000, were the result of feedback from the public, which sought a more user-funded system.

“It seemed that the public supported a pay-to-play option,” she said. “We reduced the funds significantly but did not deplete the funds in total. The remaining funds will go to more academic activities first, as well as the students who receive free and reduced lunch, and then we will have parents pick up the rest.”

The athletic cuts will mean fewer games played at other schools. The district reduced transportation costs by $13,000.

“We will still be paying coaches stipends; however, the parents will have to pay for the shirts,” she said.

Board members said they were saddened by the preliminary budget.

“I wish we had the money,” said member Vincent Marano.

Board Vice President Bill Petscavage said he would say a silent prayer for the cap waiver to be approved so that the district will not face more cuts.