Meeting until Midnight (Cont’d)

2. The 8 Library Assistants: The agenda of the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education meeting on May 22 did not include the $1.6 million cut to the recently defeated 2007/2008 school budget. But the large contingent of people who turned out to ask for reconsideration of the 8 laid-off personnel (about $200,000 of payroll and benefits) guaranteed its reappearance. An impromptu board-and-community dialogue sprang up under the “Anyone to be heard” catchall section at the end of the agenda – the exchange of views lasted nearly two hours.

Howard Norgalis, Bridgewater Township council member and his colleague, Patrick Scaglione, were in attendance. Formally representing Bridgewater and the Borough of Raritan, Mr. Norgalis kicked off the discussion. He expressed both municipalities’ concern that personnel cuts were being made to active payroll people involved with delivering services to students.

Although neither Bridgewater nor Raritan budged from the $1.6 million total cut, both municipalities jointly felt it was not their role to have dictated individual line item reductions to the BR-BOE. In response, board member Evan Lerner underscored that the superintendent, Dr. Schilder, had warned Bridgewater and Raritan municipal representatives in their earlier three-way negotiations, that any cut above $1 million would involve personnel reductions.

A long procession of equally vexed librarians, assistants, teachers, parents and other citizens then stepped up to the mike to address the BR-BOE. After over an hour, board members and the superintendent discussed among themselves what they had just heard.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the board decided to remand the question to the Finance Committee for review and for a recommendation to the full board. This three-person committee, chaired by newly elected board member Jeffrey Brookner, is tentatively scheduled to meet on Wednesday, May 30. The board made it absolutely clear that it held out no promises, except that of a good faith attempt to take a second look at the issue and to see whether other funds might be available for transfer to cover potential reinstatement of the 8 laid-off assistant librarians.

Despite any action which the board may take, the total cut of $1.6 million to the April 17 voter-rejected budget remains firm and final.