Hi Joe, Thanks for reading. I added a hyperlink in the paragraph about increased costs. It links to a presentation on the BOE Web page about the budget.

E, I read this and came up with the same conclusion as you, BUT after reading it again, I think it's implying that special education students who LIVE in the district are going outside of the district for specialized training/courses that aren't offered here. This needs more clarification

The special ed costs are for Haddonfield children. The parents of any child determined to require extra educational services due to mental or physical can petition the district for outside placement if the district does not have the capability of addressing those needs. Although the state of NJ sets very strict limits on the amount private special ed schools can charge, the expense for teaching those students is significantly higher than in a public school. For a town like Haddonfield only 4 or 5 students would have a significant budget impact. I only know this because I am on the board of the Brookfield School in Chery Hill which serves emotionally disturbed children.

Thanks Mr. Conway for the clarification. So if what you say is true, It would be nice to know how or why costs went up. Will there be more students in the 2013-14 school year who are using resources outside of the district? Or did the state of NJ allow a tuition increase of roughly 24% if in fact they set "very strict limits on the amount private special ed schools can charge"? I don't refute this cost for some of our kids. I'd just like to know what went up?

Yes, to answer your question E, a portion of the increase is attributable to turf, as the school board noted at its last regular meeting. I believe the figure is in the range of $150,000 of the increased cost, although I don't have the precise number in front of me at the moment.

There is a list of capital items on page 8 totalling $1.069 million. Most if not all of these items would be capitalized and bonded so the impact to the budget is cash flow based. TThis is why it is important to see the debt schedule that shows us the pay downs of prior debt and how much new debt can be added back without affecting cash flows.

How come no one has yet to complain about the salary increase line? It's the largest increase in spending. Is that OK with all?

So are we saying that school activities like soccer, newspaper, choir, lacrosse, band etc not part of the educational program? Parents do pay a hefty activity fee but that does not cover the cost of all the programs and facilities. Learning is not books alone folks. http://todayhealth.today.com/_news/2013/02/28/17121027-smart-jocks-fit-kids-do-better-on-math-reading-tests?lite
I'm relatively certain that the improvements to the athletic fields are not the cause of this increase. I'll have to do my homework but I think we need to look deeper than that.

That's a great idea CJ, have the households sending the kids to the school pay more. That way our senior citizens can still afford to live in this town.
Also, if what the parents pay for the activities does not voer the cost increase the fees. The parents are not paying to educate their children so charge more fees. It's a no brainer.

The median home value is $491,000 which produces an average of $7,000 in school tax contribution. This means that 50% of the homes are assessed above that number and thus pay more than $7,000. As to the idea that households with children should pay more taxes : todays seniors and others like myself had children (4) in the system. All the residents paid for our kids so how in the world is it equitable to change that system now. However if you like that idea maybe we should charge people who don't have cars less taxes because they don't impact the roads. On the other hand, we should have a surcharge on seniors due to the likehood the will need ambulance service. Those ideas seem foolish - don't they ?

I don't live here for the schools, that is quite obvious. Here's another camden, low income housing phobe.

Our taxes are too high as it is. If they keep raising our taxes this town will be a onlytherichcanlivehere ghost town.

@Dawn...You completely miss the point. The value of this town is deeply ingrained with the quality of our educational, athletic and arts programs. You could move my house half of a mile south and the value would drop a couple of hundred grand.

It takes a village..remember? A community educates its children. Without that what would our society be? I think most people in this town have had school age children or will have school age children at some point whether they live here or somewhere else and have benefited or will benefit from the school system. Dawn I think you are going in the wrong direction here. I have no problem with questioning the cost of education and think we should all be a part of making sure our dollars are wisely spent but let's not be selfish. Should I say I don't want to pay for the Senior Center? Should I not pay for the extra help for children with special needs or handicapped accessibility just because I am not directly benefiting from it? Please. It's all part of living in a successful desirable community. Your house value would plummet without it.