‘Disgusted and embarrassed’: Morris school district faces layoffs
LINCOLN PARK – Rumor became reality in the borough Tuesday night as school board officials confirmed the news spreading around town for days: A drastic budget deficit will require layoffs and other cuts for the 2024-2025 school year.
More than 200 residents and teachers packed the auditorium for the board’s meeting at Lincoln Park Middle School, where Board of Education Vice President Todd Henches acknowledged the fiscal distress.
“Obviously we all know why we are here this evening,” Henches said. “Obviously it’s been stated that there are some significant shortfalls in the budget, and that creates a tremendous amount of concern, fear and uncertainty for everybody in our school district, namely our staff, faculty and parents.”
The specific amount of the shortfall was not revealed by district officials, but one resident during a public comment period cited social media rumors ranging from “hundreds of thousands of dollars to $2 million.”
How big is Lincoln Park’s deficit?
Pressed for an answer by one resident, board President Jennifer Aiello said, “I honestly don’t know the number.”
“At this point, there is a lot of information flying about and some of these decisions that people are talking about may not have been made already,” Henches said. “But again, as parents of children in our district, we’re all concerned.”
But Superintendent Michael Meyer confirmed, “There will be staff reductions, and we are working to decide how to make changes that are least impactful for our students.”
Board members expressed frustration with Meyer’s revelation of “significant fiscal constraints” and some said the assessment took them by surprise. They voted unanimously against adopting a tentative budget of $27 million − up from $25.6 million last year. They also unanimously rejected related financial resolutions regarding travel expenses, professional services and an enrollment adjustment.
Board president blasts process
“I voted no on the budget tonight because the process leading up to this decision has been marked by a lack of transparency and clarity regarding the financial situation of the district,” Aiello said. “There’s been inconsistencies and uncertainties that have not been adequately addressed.”
“I will be honest with you, I used to be proud to be a board member,” Aiello continued. “Now I am disgusted and embarrassed.”
Teachers said they were “blindsided” on Friday when they were advised of the budget crisis during a scheduled professional development day.
The district serves about 11,000 residents and consists of two schools, the K-4 elementary school and a grades 5-8 middle school, with a combined enrollment of 878 students. Older students attend Boonton High School in a sharedservice agreement.
Teachers expect ‘devastating cuts’
Jennifer Zammit and Carolyn Kerwin, co-presidents of the Lincoln Park Education Association union, represented district teachers at the meeting.
“We understand this means devastating cuts to our programming, staff and ultimately our students’ school experiences,” Kerwin said.
More than 30 other people, mostly parents, spoke during the public comment session. Many expressed their support of the teachers and board members and urged them to find “innovative solutions.”
Others took the board and administration to task.
“I don’t understand how we didn’t see this, and by we, I mean you guys, the people in charge,” Christina Joslin said, tearing up while praising the teachers of her young daughters. “We have some of the best educators that we’re going to lose because they will leave, and I don’t blame them, or we’re going to lose them due to incompetence. Let’s call it what it is.”
Nicole Messina, who identified as both a district parent and a teacher in another district, said, “I want to apologize to this room of amazing teachers for the faults and failures of others that will ultimately affect you, your livelihood, your performance of your job and most importantly, our children.”
“I know I speak for every outraged parent in this room when I say we support you and we are grateful for you,” she continued. “However, I know I’m not alone when I ask, ‘how did we actually get here, and who is responsible for this situation?’”
Superintendent explains deficits
Meyer said the deficits were discovered when the district started putting together the upcoming budget in January.
“Before we got to that point, we knew there were significant costs associated with special services that we were required to provide for, and they were not budgeted because they couldn’t be anticipated,” Meyer said.
“That was a big piece of this. The other piece has to do with the tuition at the high school, which fluctuates from year to year.”
District officials noted the send-receive agreement with Boonton High School has not been revisited in more than 20 years.
“We are working on addressing that with Boonton,” Meyer said. “We have zero control over what is required for the high school students.”
By comparison, students in nearby Boonton Township attend Mountain Lakes High School on a 10-year shared service agreement. Those districts are currently in negotiations for a new agreement and new tuition rate.
Next steps for the budget
At this point, Meyer said, “We don’t have specifics about the details, we’re still trying to find out.
“People were mentioning we need to go back and do further accounting,” he continued.
“I don’t disagree. We have nothing to hide. We have done nothing but try to provide the best education for the students. In an effort to try and keep our services at the same levels they’ve been, that’s exceeded the revenues that were coming into the district. That’s how we ended up in this situation.”
Meyer said Lincoln Park would continue to investigate causes and solutions, but the board faces an April 30 state-mandated deadline to submit an approved budget for next year.
“It’s not an easy situation we’re in,” he said.
“As we have more answers, I’m happy to share them with you.”