Budget approved
By JENNIFER KELLEY
Cherry Hill Sun
5/1/2007

Cherry Hill avoids budget impasse; voters elect three new board members

The Cherry Hill public school district faired well in last week’s budget election, avoiding by a healthy 10 percent the fate of many surrounding communities whose budgets were defeated, according to unofficial election results provided by the Camden County clerk’s office.

More than 7,200 votes were spread throughout various township polling stations, with about 4,000 people approving the $164 million budget and approximately 3,250 voting against it – a margin of nearly 750 votes.

In other Election Day news, out of the seven candidates vying for three seats available on the Board of Education, Ken Hartman, Steven Robbins and Lisa Conn took the majority of the votes. Hartman netted 20 percent of the votes, and Robbins and Conn garnered 18 percent and 19 percent of the votes, respectively, according to unofficial election results.

The new board members were to take the reins from departing veteran BOE members John Galie, Donna Cohen and Cindy Trubin at its annual reorganization meeting, which was held Tuesday, May 1.

The approved budget will trigger a tax-rate increase of 5.9 percent, or 17 cents per $100 of assessed property value, which translates into an additional $238 a year for houses assessed at the township average of $140,000, according to district officials.

“I’m glad we’ve finally broken the pattern of alternate-year budget defeats,” said Superintendent David Campbell. “We can now refocus our full attention on helping all of our students be successful through the implementation of our district goals.”

More than 78 percent of New Jersey school districts passed budgets this year as opposed to last year’s dismal 53-percent approval rate, according to statistics reported by the New Jersey Department of Education. DOE officials attribute the statewide rise in budget approvals to increases in state funding.

But Camden County administrators faired worse than anywhere else in the state, with 21 approvals and 18 rejections. Last year, more than 40 percent of the county’s budgets were defeated as well.

In order to temper Cherry Hill’s 2007-2008 budget increase, administrators cut $1.7 million – including the elimination of about 15 positions – from the current year’s budget, Campbell noted, adding that some of the cuts may be troubling to parents and staff. But, he added, despite the continuing challenges of inadequate and flat state funding, and despite spending that is below the state average in cost per pupil, the township’s schools are in a high-achieving district with a graduation rate that consistently exceeds 95 percent and a drop-out rate that is near zero.

“Cherry Hill’s budget will continue to be challenged until the state fixes the method for funding public education,” Campbell said. “The small increase in state aid for 2007-2008 does not make up for the years of flat funding, nor does it approach the amount required to ‘equalize’ our state aid with that of other districts in our district factor group.

“I encourage Cherry Hill voters to keep pressure on our elected officials to change the funding formula,” he added.