Education costlier at the shore, data show
By DIANE D'AMICO Education Writer, 609-272-7241
Published: Thursday, March 20, 2008
TRENTON - Beachfront communities with lots of expensive second homes, but few year-round children, continue to be the top spenders per student among school districts statewide.The state Department of Educa-tion released its annual Compara-tive Spending Guide on Wednes-day, and three Cape May County communities - Sea Isle City, Avalon and West Cape May - topped the list for per-student spending. Stone Harbor ranked seventh and Long Beach Island was eighth. Sea Isle City, at $35,209, was the only regular district to top $30,000 per student for educational costs. But the small K-8 district has only about 80 students, and the school board has discussed closing the school and sending all students to neighboring Ocean City, where students already attend high school.The comparative cost per student includes only educational costs that all districts share and includes costs for special education and other services. It does not include transportation or debt service paid on capital projects, which can drive the total cost per student even higher. Districts are grouped by type, so they can be compared with similar districts. The per-student cost is calculated by dividing the budget by enrollment, so costs tend to be higher in very small districts. Special Services schools, which enroll the most disabled students, have the highest costs because of the small class sizes and broad range of services offered. But even those schools are feeling the pinch as more students are placed back in their regular hometown school.
The Cape May County Special Services district cut staffing last year due to shrinking enrollment. "When the enrollment shrinks, you also have to shrink the staff," superintendent Barbara Makoski said. "But class sizes are still so small, and we are trying not to reduce the programs we offer." Statewide, the average comparative cost budgeted per student is $12,720 for 2007-08, up 4.8 percent. Last year, costs increased 3 percent. Local district tax levies are now being capped at 4 percent as the state works to keep education costs down. But the cost of energy and special education services has been rising faster than the rate of inflation, squeezing district budgets."A cap of 4 percent works if nothing goes up more than that, but that is not what is happening," said Frank Belluscio of the New Jersey School Boards Association. "Districts try to build in a small cushion so they don't get caught short, but it's getting more difficult."Salaries make up the majority of school budgets. Teacher salaries increased by about 4.6 percent statewide this year.Among the lowest spending districts in southern New Jersey are the Galloway Community Charter School at $8,883 per student, Hamilton Township in Atlantic County at $9,134 and Hopewell Township in Cumberland County at $9,398. All are K-8 districts.Tiny Shiloh in Cumberland County closed its K-8 school this year and now sends about 40 students to Hopewell Township. The state has been pushing for the consolidation of school districts into all K-12 systems, a prominent topic in Cape May County. The new executive county superintendent of schools, Terrence Crowley, said with every district getting only the minimum two percent state aid increase for next year, and facing the possibility of reduced aid in three years, he is encouraging districts to begin planning now."I tell them, where will we be in year four if we don't plan now?" he said. "It is definitely raising the level of anxiety."With their large ratable bases, the beach communities have very low school property tax rates, but Crowley said there is still concern about the high cost of educating the children."No one ever thinks their taxes are too low," he said. "Some may think they are fair, but no one wants them to get higher."The complete statewide Comparative Spending Guide is available at:www.state.nj.us/educationTo e-mail Diane D'Amico at The Press:DDamico@pressofac.com
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