Spring 2003 Edition       

About School Budgets   By Barbara Addon, Kathy Mariniello, and Michelle Massimi  On behalf of the Fair Lawn Association for Responsible Education (FLARE)   What is a School Budget? The school budget is a state required annual summary of all spending of a school district. The budget is approved by the voters for a school year from July 1st to June 30th. The school budget summarizes salaries, benefits, professional educational services, outside vendors for buildings and grounds, supplies, textbooks, utilities, tuitions, transportation, equipment and technology, capital expenditures, summer school and Community School programs.   How can I get more information?  - Board of Education web site - Board of Education Meetings - FLARE Newsletter - PTA/PTO Meetings - School FYIs - Fair Lawn News Education page   About Absentee Ballots Did you know that people that are on the go usually fill out an absentee ballot because their lives are too busy? They don’t have time to stop at a poll, but they do not want to give up their privilege to vote. If your job calls for frequent travel, if you are planning to have surgery, if you’re a college student away from home or if you know you won’t be available to vote on April 15th, please consider filling out an absentee ballot.   Absentee ballots need to be submitted to the Hackensack Registrar's Office seven days prior to the election. This means it has to be received seven days prior not postmarked.  If you have any questions, please contact Cindy Yuskaitis at 201-703-1621.   What happens when a school budget is defeated?  When a school budget is defeated, the Board of Education meets with the Fair Lawn Borough Council.  Based on a mutual review, the council can approve the entire budget or propose a reduction in certain spending areas. The two bodies agree on the total reduction in dollars.   A “no” vote does not mean that taxes won’t go up. Instead, a “no” vote means a small reduction agreed upon by Town Council and the Board of Education which is limited by the Commissioner of Education.   Your taxes WILL NOT go down! Last year the school budget was defeated by 4 votes. Our taxes still went up. The average homeowner spent 80 cents less per year AFTER the cuts than they would have spent if the budget had passed. ($202.20 vs. $203 per year)   What is the difference between a School Budget and a Referendum?  A referendum is like a mortgage, it allows the voters to spread the cost of capital assets over the life expectancy of the asset (i.e. a 30 year roof installation is paid off by the taxpayers over the 30 year life of the roof).     A school budget includes projected and estimated expenses to support all educational programs and extracurricular activities for a given school year.   What is Flare? FLARE (Fair Lawn Association for Responsible Education) is a committee of the Fair Lawn PTA Council. We work year round to provide you with information about the school budget and how your tax dollars are at work for your children. PTA Council of Fair Lawn consists of representatives from all the PTA/PTO’s in Fair Lawn, FLEA (Fair Lawn Education Association), FLASA (Fair Lawn Administrators and Supervisors Association), FLASE (Fair Lawn Association for Special Education), The Central Office (Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Business Administrator and Director of Human Resources) and The Board of Education.   Message from Chairpersons Of FLARE (one has kids in Fair Lawn schools and one doesn't) Alida Mancinelli:  "I have two children who successfully went through the Fair Lawn School District and graduated. One is grown and the other is a college sophomore. I am still a strong supporter of the school budget. It is critical to your child’s education and to my property value. If each and every parent of a child in our school district votes “yes”, our budget will ALWAYS pass!"   Cindy Jo Yuskaitis:  "I have 2 children in the district, and I am a very strong supporter of the school budget. Passing the school budget is critical to our children’s education. I implore everyone to vote “yes” on the April 15th school budget."