There has been so much property value reduction during the last years in Wayne, that the taxes cannot go but up. According to statements made by Dorothy Kreitz, the highly able assessor, she was surprised that the property values have been reduced so much. I do not believe that she has been sleeping at the wheel. Quite the opposite, these individuals are very canning. They intentionally over assessed the properties so that they collect so much more money in salaries and benefits and special interest spending. These people even charged the homeowners for the ice skating lessons of their children. Enjoy!

Is this really worth it?

Salaries stagnant for the private sector. Who can afford this?

Doesn't matter how you vote taxes will continue to go up. More benefits for teachers and administrators, less for citizens.

While I highly value Education and our Wayne Schools, I question in a tough economy, when is it enough? My tax bill has gone up $2,500 in the last five years. A person on a fixed income can not continue to afford to live here. We need to do better!! We need more fiscal accountability. The sky is NOT the limit anymore.

Just what we need, more money taken out of our pockets unnecessarily just because they can. You want more money go find it elsewhere because my paycheck sure as heck can't afford to be squeezed anymore. By the way why do I pay the same as people who actually have kids in school, or have kids at all? Shouldn't people whose kids are actually in these schools or have young kids who will eventually be in these schools pay more than me when I don't have any? There should be some type of tier program based on how many you have to correlate to what you pay.

Its all Mr Ortiz's fault! lol

Regarding Mr. Gonzalas comment: "Nothing is set in stone". The 2% increase is set in stone. We can squabble about 2 million ( about $30.00 per homeowner ) but the 2% is "Auto-Bill Pay".
Knowing this, why not propose a 3 year budget plan, by including the annual 2% increase and lay the cards on the table.
This way, these budget meetings could be used to to discuss how to use the surplus of funds left over from the previous budget before the end of each school year. The budget would incluse the treasured line items like "breakage, reductions in transportation costs, budget cuts in textbooks, building services, maintenance budget cost, and the Grail- the Additional General Administration Salaries.
Since the rise in taxes will be almost $700.00 in the next 3 years, and will have risen to over 1200.00 if you include the past 2 years, it's obvious that we're beyond asking "how and why" and should concentrate on "for what".

Ortiz has driven up tha taxes already! see? there you go!

Why don't all the sheep with blinders on move out of Wayne? All they do is accept.

Because I have alot of work to do liberating the oppressed masses from the tyranny of the majority who have run Wayne as though it were a private club of patronage, political cronyism, and election rigging to the distinct detriment of the People?
Thank you for asking.

The increased cost of benefits should be passed on to the employees, not the taxpayers. Benefits are not an example of "investing in the schools."

I have said this before. The Wayne BOE is out of control with salaries and hiring. Did we really need a new middle school? Do we need to be running our own school bus fleet? Outsourcing this would probably save alot of money and cost. They need to make cuts. Administration has too many administrators and they are always creating new positions. $127.00 tax increase really translates that most people will end up paying much more then that. They have no buisness proposing a budget that is ove the state mandated 2%. They should start at 2% and then make cuts. They propose an inflated budget, then make cuts and act like they did the taxpayers a big favor. They end up with what they wanted all along. The BOE members hae to go and be replaced by members that are responsive to the taxpayers in this town not just the teachers union and its high paid administrators. The BOE needs to make cuts. When budgets were defeated the Township council made frivilous cuts less then 1%. Now they have taken the taxpayers vote away. Believe me taking our vote away didn't do the taxpayers any favor. This was all in thier best interest.

My paychek has bben stagnant since the recession started 5 years ago. But my property tax has been steadily increasing over that same period. When will this government start to live like an ordinary citizen?

Well, if this government is serious about cost cutting, then close Preakness Library Branch, freeze salary, and close down the programs that don’t have enough students. Is this government willing to do the best for the people of the town or just for themselves?

That will not happen soon, but eventually. We are moving further and further away from the days when you had to offer tax payer-funded benefits to public employees in order to attract talent away from the more lucrative private sector. That rationale is becoming more and more tenuous.
It is beginning to happen, though. Teachers are paying a portion of their salaries towards their health insurance, and the percentage which they pay will increase. Eventually, pensions will be go, too, and public sector employees will join the rest of us who throw our money into a 401K or IRA.

They don't want to make cuts...that is obvious, and honestly, I'm not sure if this increase actually will benefit the student...I do question that on occasion. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS are through the roof, and there is the very real reality that teacher's and staff will have to contribute more for benefits, but that isn't all on the BOE, that's the reality of our future. Companies are doing away with pensions, and cutting back on benefits period. Pension won't even be a word in my children's vocabulary. It was a very nice benefit, that costs money. I really think we all need to look into WHAT they actually want to do with the money, and WHAT the benefits are to OUR STUDENTS...NOT ADMINISTRATION!!!!

There comes a time when you have to say, enough is enough. Maybe we just have to hold tight for a year or so without implementing any new programs. Now, people will say that is putting our children farther behind by not getting the benefit of the newest and hottest educational programs out there. There is an argument for everything. Our children,s education is important and can be a very emotional issue. However, how much can the taxpayer bear. How many people out there have gone without a raise for several years, yet their property taxes have gone up. It's a difficult issue. The board, and I certainly don't envy them need to make some hard decisions that may not be very popular or politically adverse. There has got to be a balance between cost and a good education.

I don't understand it. If the teachers and administrators don't receive an increase for a year or so why should the level of education be effected. If they have to contribute a bit more to their benefit package how does it effect their ability to teach. Am I missing something or is this all about money and not the children.

I can appreciate that the State has a job to do. However, coming down with mandate after mandate that necessitates our educational system doing something, which has an unfunded cost associated with it is unfair. The State has cut back our State Aid significantly under Christie. Wayne has gotten significantly less over the last 2 or so years. Frankly, I'm not sure what recourse we have. I guess we could vote the Governo out, however, I don't think that's going to happen this year.As for my wife, she really doesn't talk or complain about anything at all. Knowing I'm not adverse to getting on Patch and blasting somebody or the Board, she purposely doesn't discuss her work as a teacher in our school system. She has the highest regard for her fellow teachers, her Principal and Vice Principal, as well as the Superintendent and his Administrators. She loves her job. Whatever they throw at her, she does and does it without complaining.

Al, your wife is a smart woman. You are fortunate.

Question: Does anyone know what the student population trend has been year by year over the last 10. I was told and I don't know if this is true that the population of school aged children has actually dropped in the last 10 years.

C. Bacio, kiss yours. That is my response to your silly screen name and sarcasm.

As reported in The Record today there is a 15 to 30% drop in children under the age of 5 in Wayne according to the latest census. In turn school enrollment will be dropping in the years ahead. Did we really have to spend millions of taxpayer dollars for the new Anthony Wayne Middle School? They had to staff this school with teachers, administrators, support staff etc etc. I guess somewhere down the line one of the existing middle schools will be closed and sold and then resold so certain individuals can make alot of money on the deal as was the case with the old Anthony Wayne Middle School on Valley Road. When the new school was built they new future enrollment was gonna drop but they built it anyway. This contributed to a large increase in the yearly school budget. The BOE in this Township is destroying this town by its neverending need for more and more money. If the school budget is capped at 2% under state law where do they come off proposing an increase thats over 3.5%. Everytime taxes go up more people move out or cannot afford to maintain thier homes because all thier money is going to pay taxes. BOE members "WISE UP". Your killing the residents with your greed for more & more money.

Daniel,
Why is my posting being removed? It is very relevent to the school budget increase as well as the loss of tax revenues in the Township. Please delete one of the two above as I didn't see the first posting when I looked. Thanks.

As a resident who was vehemently opposed to the construction of the Anthony Wayne Middle School, primarily due to the sale of the original Anthony Wayne Middle School to developers who made a fortune converting it to high end senior living quarters; consequently WASTING my money. Now a report that was mentioned by others on this board:
http://www.northjersey.com/community/family/parenting/NYC_beckons_new_parents_as_North_Jersey_suburbs_no_longer_seen_as_only_place_to_raise_kids.html

Who is this Anthony Wayne to be sold to once there are not enough children to attend? The property taxes have priced most young families out of the market, yet the taxes,continue to skyrocket with no end in sight. What will happen to all the people who were hired for the Anthony Wayne Middle School? Have the plans for downsizing begun or will the BOE continue to keep their heads in the sand and demand their 2% annual increase without voter input?

I am getting a little sick and tired of these arguments about the budget. Any of you that have made up budgets know that any budget can be cut by at least 10 - 15%. We put so much fat in to budgets to cover any and all contingencies it is not funny. Now in the case of municipal and state budgets this compounds year after year until no one knows what is in the budget. In private industry you have to hold your expenses or cut your waste. No one praises you when you increase your budget.

Here we go again taxpayers of Wayne when they tell you your school taxes are going up $205.00 that is far from the truth. In reality it will be much higher than that, add your municipal taxes and county taxes you can expect an increase of $1000.00 or higher. When will this end? Property taxes in Wayne are skyrocketing causing the average person unable to live in Wayne. Wayne Board of Ed was one of the first towns to eliminate township residents the right to vote on the school budget .P.S. Lets see how long this school superintendent will last???????

Correct, to even propose a budget at 3.8% that is over the state mandated cap is ridiculous. They should start at 2% and cut from there. What goes on at the Wayne BOE is friends getting jobs and contracts etc. The BOE has killed the goose that laid the Golden Egg. And yes to take the budget vote way from the taxpayers was just another way around getting money. Most of the BOE members use the BOE as a stepping stone into politics. Just look at our town council almost all have served on the BOE and therefore the budget when defeated was cut less then 1% and approved by the governing body. Over a 132 million and they cut less then 1%?

We were told that Anthony Wayne Middle School was built to meet the demand of incresing student population. In reality, the student population never really increased ever since the school was built.

Anthony Wayne was built to relieve the overcrowding in our middle schools at the time...GW and Schuyler. I believe at the time both schools were either at 1000 students or possibly more. I think Schuyler has about 740 students at present and I think GW may be slightly less. Not sure what the student population is at Anthony Wayne.

What is being done to remove illegal students from the taxpayers back? I am not a charity. These students are not legal Wayne residents but use Wayne addresses to attend our schools. We all know who they are but what is being done?

Who are they?

To start with, the ones who live with relatives or friends in Wayne during the week while their parents live in other towns.

The ones who live in the many illegal apartments in town. There is code for this.

The next question? How is the reimbursement for Special Ed students from other towns allocated? It is income but how is it verified?

How about foster kids temporarily placed with Wayne residents? Those households get stipends why can't the taxpayers? Has anyone bothered to look into this? Grants? Superintendent of Prospect Park did his own grants until he died of a fatal heart attack. He lived on Point View. RIP to him. A true educator.