School Board to Adopt Amended Budget on Tuesday

The Lawrence Township Board of Education will hold a special meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 8, in the library at Lawrence High School to discuss and ultimately adopt the amended 2012-2013 school budget.

The meeting follows the , which was . By law, the school board must adopt the amended budget before May 21.

Earlier this week, school district Superintendent Crystal Lovell sent out an email via the district’s QuickNews service that contained the following update on the budget amendment process:

“Members of our Board of Education, [Business Administrator] Tom [Eldridge] and I attended a special Town Council meeting April 30 to review the budget and hear Town Council's recommendations.  Administrators, staff, parents and community members were also present.  We previously identified $375,000 in reductions and deferrals that we wanted Town Council to consider.  Town Council recommended an additional $325,000 for a total of $700,000 in cuts and reductions. 

“After both sides spoke and Town Council listened to public comments, both sides agreed on reducing the budget by $500,000.  That puts us about $1,000,000 under the 2 percent cap.  Our final tax levy is about the same as it was during the 2008-2009 school year.  Although Town Council suggested what to cut, the district is only obligated to reduce the budget by the agreed amount of $500,000.  Most of the proposed cuts did not directly impact the classroom.  They involved deferring equipment purchases and upgrades to some facilities, reducing supplies and professional development budgets, and reorganizing the high school administrative team structure. Once the cuts and reductions have been finalized, we will share them with you.”

See Also:

• May 1: ""
• April 27: ""
• April 23: ""
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• April 20: ""
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