File Photo/From left, Superintendent Eileen Johnson, 2018 Teacher of the Year Michele Masterman and Elementary School Principal Carmela Somershoe.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
VENTNOR A member of the Ventnor Education Association, which represents teachers of the Ventnor public school district, is asking state legislators to change the way tuition is figured for sending-receiving districts.
We are writing to urge you to propose new legislation to change the state regulated formula, in the calculation of tuition for sending school districts, Ventnor's 2018 Teacher of the Year Michele Masterman wrote in her change.org petition.
She started the petition on Sunday, April 5 and had 365 signers within 24 hours.
Her action was prompted by the increase in tuition charged for Ventnor, Margate, Longport and Brigantine students to attend Atlantic City High School.
A $2,300 increase in tuition for 203 students to attend the high school this coming September and a tuition adjustment from prior years socked the Ventnor school budget with a more than $1 million increase. The Ventnor City Board of Education reduced its previously proposed 2020-2021 school year budget by $404,636, shaving 2 cents off what could have been a 6.3 cents tax rate increase.
Tuition is based on a formula that includes state aid, which benefits the receiving district, but penalizes the sending district through higher tuition costs, Masterman said in her change.org petition.
The Atlantic City school district, which educates students in kindergarten through 12th grade, received a windfall of $17 million in additional state aid for the upcoming school year, and tuition is likely to increase again next year, officials said. Some of that aid will be used to educate high school students.
If a receiving district benefits from state aid, a sending district should benefit equally, Masterman said in her post. Sending districts, with a limited say in how funds are spent, can be saddled with huge tuition costs and increases.
According to Masterman, the state aid comes with a caveat that it be used to educate students of the district.
When these funds are used at the high school, Atlantic City can then charge Ventnor for the free money they received from the state. Furthermore, Atlantic City gets to spend this free money twice; once when received from the state and again when Ventnor pays tuition. This creates an unfair financial burden on Ventnor's school budget and their taxpayers, Masterman said.
The city is holding its Board of School Estimate meeting 6 p.m. Monday, April 6 via the Zoom telecommunication platform. Instructions on how to access the meeting on your home computer or cell phone is posted on the school district's website, veccnj.org.
To make up for some of the increase, the school district will not fill three of four teacher positions vacated due to retirements.
We're going to have to shuffle around positions, Masterman said. Our programs and students will be affected.
Other cuts to the proposed budget include eliminating a sound system upgrade in the auditorium and eliminating the purchase of interactive TVs and school supplies.
The Board of School Estimate could recommend additional cuts to the school budget for Ventnor's K-8 students.
Tuition to ACHS has increased $6,000 per student over the last three budgets from $16,700 in the 2018-2019 school year to $22,700 for 2020-2021, Masterman said.
For a fiscally responsible district that runs a lean budget, this formula is devastating, Masterman said. I'm a huge supporter of ACHS, but the way they are figuring tuition is not fair and it needs to be adjusted.
She urged state legislators to remove state aid spending from the receiving district's tuition calculation.
Masterman said she would keep the petition going until changes are made.
To access the petition, see https://bit.ly/3dY4nXF
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