JACKSON – As the Jackson Township School District’s state aid gets cumulatively smaller, officials are left with difficult decisions in how to close the gap between what the district needs and the funds available to pay for it all.
Superintendent Nicole Pormilli noted that the school district was “aware of the budget crisis we are in. We have been working hard and have been applying for grants and we received one for juvenile justice which will expanded a summer program for our school.”
Pormilli said that the current budget will be impacted by the S-2 funding formula. This is the state law that changed how aid has been distributed. Several local districts like Jackson were deemed “overfunded” by the state so they have lost millions of dollars in aid every year.
“Unfortunately, S-2 has been a problem for the Jackson School District. Our funds have been drastically cut this year by $4.3 million. This is the worst year to be hit by this and it is during a pandemic. I’ll be honest with you, it is devastating,” Pormilli said.
“That is where we start with our deficit in state aid. That does not account for our contractual obligations and raising costs overall.” She also noted a rise in insurance premiums and added the school district is continuing to advocate for more state aid funds appealing “to our governor and state legislators.” She added that in the last several years the district has lost $19 million “through the S-2 initiative.”
The superintendent also touched on some public comments regarding live streaming future Board of Education meetings. “I am happy to announce that the Board has made that decision and we are looking forward to March’s meeting that will be live steamed which is a really big plus for people who can’t attend but can watch what is happening in the school district.”
Grant Audit
Assistant Superintendent Robert Rotente said the district has been requested by the state to submit a correction action plan as part of a random audit regarding the school district’s receipt of the Perkins grant and funds that it provided for the purchase of 3-D printers for a high school program.
“We have been fortunate to receive this grant for the last several years and it is very specific to enhancing and improving our career and technical education program that we have on the high school level,” Rotente said.
“We received a letter from the state that we were being audited for the 2018-19 school year on the Perkins grant. We received $55,000 for that grant. We are being audited for no specific reason. It is just a random audit,” Rotente said.
Rotente said the bulk of that money was used to buy 3-D printers for technology classes, a laser engraver for an engineering class and relativity dolls for a child development class and computers. “We were commended for our record keeping.”
He did note that it was discovered that certain policies did not meet state recommendations. “No one had this policy as well,” he said adding there were some other items that required addressing reporting for accounting purposes. “A lot of students benefit from these grants.”
Rotente said the action plan would be sent to the state soon.
