MILLTOWN — The Board of Education voted in favor of a $13.8 million spending plan for the 2010-11 school year that raises taxes by $359 on the average home.

Voters will have their say on the budget on April 20. Polls will be open from 2-9 p.m.

Schools Superintendent Linda Madison and Business Administrator Loriann Dekovics presented the final budget at the board’s March 31 meeting in the Borough Council chambers. They explained that because the district suffered a 49 percent cut in state aid, a loss of $676,453, as well as a change in the law that controls the tuition adjustment schedule for send-receive districts, the school tax levy in Milltown will have to be raised significantly.

Madison said the state law now requires the school district to pay any and all high school tuition adjustments for Milltown students sent to Spotswood High School.

“That, combined with an expected 24 additional paid tuitions [as compared to the 2009-10 school year], caused the Spotswood High School tuition line [in the budget] to increase by $700,000,” Madison has said.

Milltown anticipated sending 275 students in 2009-10, but currently has 289 students enrolled there. At a current tuition rate of $13,396 per student, this amounts to $188,000 in additional costs. Milltown expects to have 299 students at Spotswood in 2010-11.

The budget situation will result in layoffs and larger class sizes, as the number of sections in each grade level will be reduced from four to three.

The board will cut 13 positions — nine faculty members, two secretaries and two custodians. The cuts include two teaching positions that will be eliminated through attrition — a read and recovery teacher and a media specialist.

Other cuts include two special education aides, saving the district $25,000, and one computer technician. The district will save $30,000 by deferring its language arts textbook purchase. Some $45,731 in cuts to the student activities fund will leave $25,856 in that line item, and $11,135 in cuts to the athletics fund leaves $13,460 in the area. The board will cut $45,945 in administrative costs, $92,915 in operation and maintenance costs, approximately $78,000 in improvement of instruction services, and $18,000 in capital outlay funds to purchase three interactive whiteboards.

Also cut is the Spotswood High School late bus, workshops and consultants, and supplies.

School officials have explained that the administrative cuts include any travel expenses, as well as the salary freezes for the business administrator and superintendent. The board also cut postage costs for mailings to parents. All correspondence between the school district and homes will be done through email.

The athletic cuts will mean fewer games played at other schools and a pay-to-play option for the students. Madison said her administration decided on pay-to-play as a result of feedback from the public.

School officials said the remaining funds in the co-curricular activities and athletic lines in the budget will go to more academic activities first, as well as the students who receive free and reduced lunch.

“Then we will have parents pick up the rest,” said Madison.

The superintendent has sent a letter to Gov. Chris Christie explaining Milltown’s situation.

“Please find it in your heart to contact me to get the facts about how the deep cuts have impacted small, fiscally responsible and highperforming school districts, while there is still time to remediate before budgets are voted on in April,” she wrote.