Schools

District Receives $1.5 Million in Special Education Aid

Board will host special budget meeting Thursday.

Wayne school district officials got some good news from the state Wednesday afternoon, with the New Jersey Department of Education announcing that the district well receive nearly $1.3 million more in special education aid this year than it received last year. The district is expected to receive more than $1.5 million this year. In comparison, it received less than $300,000 in 2010.

District officials could not be reached for comment on the increase Wednesday.

The board of education will host a special meeting Thursday to discuss the Wayne School District's 2011-2012 budget.

Find out what's happening in Waynewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. in the board's conference room at the district office at 50 Nellis Drive. A meeting has also been scheduled for March 1, same time and place.

School districts throughout the state saw their purse strings get a little shorter this year. In an effort to limit property tax increases, Governor Chris Christie and state lawmakers agreed earlier this year to limit property tax increases to no more than 2 percent unless voters approve a higher amount.

Find out what's happening in Waynewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Residents approved a $123 million tax levy, the portion of the district budget controlled by local taxes, last year by a vote of 5,304 to 4,592.

Interim Superintendent Michael Roth previously said that the district will "come in on budget" and any budget increase will be less than or at the 2 percent cap.

New Jersey Education Association President Barbara Keshishian questioned the fairness of the burden that educators are expected to shoulder this year after Gov. Chris Christie gave his annual budget address Tuesday.

“Chris Christie is singling them out to pay the entire tab for this budget. We estimate that his proposals would cut the average teacher’s compensation by 15 percent or more," she asked.

But education spending will increase, Christie said, and schools will see a $250 million influx of state aid, although they will also be asked to make changes in the way they do business.

“If [money] was the answer, we would not be spending over $17,600 per pupil in New Jersey and still have over 100,000 students trapped in 200 failing schools,” the governor said.


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