Education Committee

Taxpayers, are you aware that…

A Newark Star Ledger report verified that Robbinsville (Washington) Township taxes have almost doubled in 7 years. The newspaper further reported that the township had the highest average percentage tax increase for 2007. Two-thirds of those increases have been for the tax levies to support Robbinsville Schools since 60% of your taxes are for the school district.

Your recent tax bill probably shows a 10% increase this year. Last spring, the school board accepted a 13% increase in the school budget. The Town Council cut 3% from the municipal budget. Thus the difference is the school budget.

At the December Board of Education meeting, Board President Mr. Setaro announced that the 20% funding increase granted by the state only amounts to $480,000. This is a paltry amount considering all of the state's fanfare about this being the highest percentage that a district could receive. What appeared to be a significant financial boost to the district, isn't.

Mr. Setaro also announced that the federal law suit was dismissed. The federal court told the district they must exhaust state remedies first before bringing a suit into the federal court system. The chances of their succeeding is nil. Hammonton, Egg Harbor and Galloway Township already tried in 2003 and lost. The state court ruled that the "petitioners cannot prevail on their claim that respondents are required to increase their CEIFA aid." (For clarification, respondents refers to the state and CEIFA is the law that provides the formula for funding.)

At the October BOE Meeting, the auditor stated that previous audit recommendations were not acted upon by former Business Administrators. This was one of the major reasons for the district’s financial problems over the past two years. Problems cited by the auditor included this partial list:

    - All purchase orders be complete and supporting documentation be available for inspection

      and review.

   - Bills be paid in a timely manner to avoid the charging of penalties and interest.

   - The district must follow The Uniform Minimum Chart of Accounts for New Jersey.

      (This is fundamental for all accounting in New Jersey schools.)

   - That approved budgetary line accounts NOT (my emphasis) be overcommitted

      and/or over-expended.

    - That Commissioner approval be obtained for all transfers that on a cumulative basis exceed

     10% of the amount included in the budget certified for taxes. (This is the law but the district

     was obviously not following it.)

    - That any expenditures which exceed the bid or quote threshold be made in accordance with the

      requirement of the Public School Contracts Law (N.J. 18: 18A et seq) (Again the district was

      not following legal guidelines.)

   - That Business Registration Certificates be obtained from all vendors when purchases exceed in

      the aggregate the quote threshold as per c. 57, P.L. 2004.

    - Due to Grantor balances must be returned immediately with the submission of the final grant

      expenditure report. (This and the next to last item refer to last years grant scandal.)

The recent audit of the school district’s accounts turned up a $259,040 surplus. According to the law, it must be used for pay down debts. This is good but where did the surplus come from in light of the financial problems over the last two years?

Taxes in Washington Township have almost doubled over the past 7 years according to an investigation by the Newark Star Ledger. Two-thirds of those taxes were school taxes.

Robbinsville (Washington) Township had the highest average percentage increase in taxes in 2007 – 8.5% according to the Star Ledger. Remember that the Town Council cut taxes but the school taxes increased by 12%. As of this date, there has been no explanation for this monumental increase by the administration. Even the Town Council could not get answers.

about 60% of your taxes go to support the school system?

a past decision by the board of education has cost you an extra 23 million dollars? (Read more)

School Business Administrator William Takacs made this comment about the proposed new elementary school in the Sunday Trenton Times, July 1, 2007: “the district is already is already at its borrowing cap." He went on to say, "We can’t build right now because we don’t know if we have the authority to bond more money." To read why there is a borrowing cap read "a past decision by the board of education has cost an extra 23 million dollar?" and click (Read more). No matter what method they chose, it means increasing the debt for the township and creating higher taxes.

that the school district had to return $14,700 to the state because of a Violation of Contract Law involving Voice Over Internet Protocol. Why the violation?

one of our councilmen tried to get the district budget for two weeks before the council/school budget meeting to preview it and was refused. Was it because he had experience as a statistician and would spot ambiguities?

the district school administrators were so vague about the budget they created they could not give the township council accurate information about student enrollment.

councilman David Boyne was so frustrated that he accused the school administrators of double counting students at the budget cutting meeting.

despite all of the problems with the school budget this year, there has been no audit of the budget? Why not? Why doesn’t the board protect taxpayers?

the district has had 3 business administrators in 4 years. Why do they leave?

the board has established a trend for negotiating administrative salaries that exceed the average given in surrounding districts. Is this why the administration was vague about the budget before the township council? (Read more)

the Voice Over Internet Protocol contract violation has demonstrated serious flaws in the running of the district’s business office. This is why the board should be demanding an independent audit. You can read the entire newspaper article in this site’s news section.

Robbinsville (Washington) Township received the lowest percentage of state aid in New Jersey for the construction of our high school, 13%, because of the failure to follow State Efficiency Standards. Only Florence Township equaled us with that low percentage but Florence built their high school for $35 million and we built ours for $50 million.

The statistics on this site came primarily from New Jersey State Department of Education Records. They were given to the State by the local districts, such as Robbinsville Township, as part of mandated reporting requirements.