Princeton Board of Education (BOE) will hold its annual budget workshop in the Valley Road Administration Building Thursday, March 12, at 7 p.m. The public meeting, which is not routinely televised, will provide an opportunity for Princeton residents to learn about the school’s budget.

The Christie Administration has just released state school-aid figures for the fiscal year 2016 and announced that all school districts will continue to receive as much K-12 aid as they did last year, including the continuation of the Per-Pupil Growth Aid and PARCC Readiness Aid.

According to the state website (www.state.nj.us), which shows district-by-district allocations, state-aid for Princeton in 2015-16 will be $3,429,578.

Thursday’s workshop will share details of “where we started and where we are now in the budget process,” said Board Secretary Stephanie Kennedy.

The school budget process is of particular concern to property tax payers and teachers alike. The BOE has been embroiled in ongoing contract negotiations with the teachers’s union Princeton Regional Education Association (PREA) since their contract expired at the end of the 2013-14 school year. Both sides have been working with state-appointed mediator Kathleen Vogt since last December.

On February 17, they had a fourth session with Ms. Vogt, who has advised confidentiality throughout the process. A fifth session with Ms. Vogt is scheduled for April 9. In the interim, both sides have agreed to meet face to face without mediation on Thursday, March 26.

At the Board of Education’s monthly meeting in February, Board President Andrea Spalla reminded both sides that Ms. Vogt’s services are being provided at no cost to the district and that if a satisfactory end to the process is not reached with Ms. Vogt’s help, the negotiations would move to the “fact-finding stage.” The fact-finding process, said Ms. Spalla, could take anywhere between six to 12 months and the per diem cost of $1,500 would be split by the district and the PREA.

One point of contention between the Board and PREA was brought up during that meeting’s public comment session when Princeton teacher and PREA negotiator John Baxter questioned the Board’s claim that it must not exceed the 2 percent cap on budget increases. Mr. Baxter said that there was an exemption in the case of money used for increased health care costs. “If I am wrong, correct me,” said Mr. Baxter.

In response to Mr. Baxter’s remark, Ms. Kennedy called it “incorrect.”

Asked for clarification by Town Topics via email, Ms. Kennedy explained further: “John [Baxter] implied that the Board could simply increase the tax levy cap if they chose to. Fact is, there are few possibilities for increasing the tax levy cap — one is enrollment and the second is a health benefit waiver. Both opportunities are calculated through the budget software. So although it is possible, it is driven [by] many cost factors, not the board’s desire to just increase the levy. If a waiver is permissible then the Board would have to ‘decide’ to use the waiver. Any waiver is applied to the entire revenue detail and is part of the whole budget; it is not used in isolation.”

Chances are that questions about such a waiver will come up at Thursday’s budget workshop.

One other way to increase the tax levy, said Ms. Kennedy, is through a Second Question which would have to be voted on by the community in a November election. In such a case, the levy would follow rather than precede the budget process and, therefore, according to Ms. Kennedy, could not be applied until after a positive election result.

Do Teachers Matter?

Also speaking in the public session at last month’s board meeting were several teachers, many of whom described the hardship incurred by the increased burden on them of medical insurance costs. One said that she had advised her daughter that teaching was no longer a good career option. Another described living “paycheck to paycheck.” Addressing the Board, she said, “This Board has dug in its heels and teachers in Princeton have their backs against the wall.”

“This Board did not create Princeton’s ‘Lighthouse District,’ they inherited it from those who came before,” said another. “Please protect the legacy of public education in Princeton.”

One 20-year district veteran said she was “baffled” by what was happening. “Either the district does not fully understanding or is blatantly disregarding what we do,” she said. “Why is the Board treating us like we no longer matter?”

The BOE also heard from cafeteria workers unhappy with the ongoing negotiations between their union, Local 32 BJ Service Employees International, and Nutri-Serve, the company hired last year by the district to operate school cafeterias. Describing the negotiations as “one-sided,” one worker said the company “wants to go backwards instead of forward.”

On the other hand, Ms. Spalla described “positive” negotiations with PRESSA (Princeton Regional Educational Support Staff Association). “Significant progress was made by the parties towards an agreement,” said Ms. Spalla, adding that talks would continue today, March 11.

The Board’s negotiating team is also scheduled to meet with members of the Princeton Administrators Association, which represents principals, assistant principals, and supervisors, on March 24.