Berkeley Heights and Mountainside Week in Review

Patch Sits Down With Mountainside Superintendent to Discuss School Budget

A public roundtable was held on Tuesday, February 8th by the Mountainside Board of Education at the Deerfield School, as the board moves closer to finalizing a budget for the 2011-12 academic year.

District administrators stated that the session was to keep the public informed as the board takes their approach toward the budget’s finalization.

Patch sat down with Mountainside school superintendent Jeannette Baubles and school business administrator Daniel Sarangese to delve further into the budget issues facing the borough.

“At the meeting, we tried to give the community an overall sense of the funding situation," said Saragnese.

Added Baubles, “We wanted to elicit feedback and input on what they (the public) value with respect to our educational programs."

The district is forced to plan next year’s budget still reeling from the economic crisis that has had virtually all New Jersey schools looking for ways to save for the past few years. In June of 2008, the district had 3.2 million dollars saved in its reserves at the end of the school year.

Since then, that number has decreased annually. The district had $2.8 million of its reserve funds remaining in June of 2009, and had just $1.8 million left in June of 2010. After using $1.3 million to aid this year’s budget, Saragnese expects about $500,000 of reserve funds to remain.

The outlook for the district, however, is not entirely bleak. Saragnese stated that the board is currently looking at additional revenues that can aid next year’s budget.

Next year’s school budget was the hot agenda item at Tuesday night's Berkeley Heights board of education meeting as the district struggles to formulate a spending plan under a state-mandated cap.

Athletics and foreign language programs throughout the district are in danger of being cut, and teachers, administrators and other staff will lose their jobs as the district stands at a watershed moment that will redefine education in Berkeley Heights for years to come, school board members said.

 “The  budget next year, going forward, will be lower than this year even with any tax increase,” said school board Vice President John Sincaglia, who heads the board’s finance committee. “There will be, practically speaking, nothing new in the budget. This is going to be a budget that nets out with the elimination of 20 positions, and it could be more than that.”

Courtesy busing, elementary school libraries, guidance and music programs, and special education activities also face the budget ax. “It’s going to touch all facets of the school community,” Sincaglia said.

Because of the gravity of the situation, school board meetings dedicated solely to the new budget have been scheduled for special starting times of 7 p.m. on Feb. 24 and Feb. 28 at the middle school. 

The board plans take a final vote on the school budget at its March 3 meeting and submit the plan to the county board of education the following day, March 4, at the deadline.

Foundation Hosts Event Highlighting Prevention of Injuries and Cardiac Arrest in Sports

Experts and activists gathered on Thursday night at the Hauser Auditorium at The Pingry School’s Martinsville Campus. The reason? To discuss something that has increasingly become a hot-button topic in recent years: the effect of sports injuries on our youth.

The evening -- titled “Mitigating Sports Risks for Students” -- was sponsored by the John Taylor Babbitt Foundation, which is a non-profit organization operated by Dave and JoAnne Babbitt to raise awareness and prevention of sudden cardiac death. The Babbitts’ son, John, died of sudden cardiac arrest in 2006 at the age of 16 while playing basketball in his youth ministry league.

The event, which featured guest lectures from doctors with expertise in the fields of concussions, ACL injuries, and sudden cardiac arrest, was the first of its kind for the JTB Foundation.

“This is a new way for us to reach out to the community, to have an event like this," said Dave Babbitt. “What’s nice about this (is) having people who have a need for an understanding of these issues. It’s very important for us.”

The presentation was attended by athletic trainers, coaches, parents, and student athletes alike, who were able to participate in a Q & A session with the doctors in attendance.