At Least 19 Jobs Lost As Commissioners Cut School Budgets

WILDWOOD CREST — Greg Rohrman, business administrator for the Wildwood and Wildwood Crest school districts, said the large cuts made by both municipalities’ governing bodies to defeated school budgets on May 18 will mean significant changes, including several layoffs, for local schools.
In the morning, Wildwood Crest Commissioners cut $75,000 from that school district budget, and later that evening Wildwood Commissioners cut nearly $320,000 in their district.
“These cuts are going to be difficult for both districts,” Rohrman told the Herald in a telephone interview. “It’ll mean staff cuts both through attrition and layoffs.”
In Wildwood, Rohrman said an art teacher, a social studies teacher, a special education teacher, two library aides, a security aide and a guidance counselor would be laid off. In addition, the director of guidance, a physical education teacher, a world language/basic skills teacher, a special education teacher and a long-time maintenance man were retiring and not being replaced, he said.
“That’s 12 positions lower than we started with this year,” Rohrman said.
In Wildwood Crest, Rohrman said there would be at least three layoffs and four retirements. Layoffs include a special education teacher, a special education aide and a custodian. Also, a language arts/computer teacher, a math teacher and two basic skills/special education teachers are retiring and not being replaced.
Rohrman noted that all layoffs were due to “economic necessity,” and the number might have been greater if the retirements hadn’t been announced.
“It is our absolute hope that we won’t have to make further cuts in staff,” he said.
Despite the staff reductions, Rohrman said both districts were trying not to cut student programs.
Regarding the art teacher layoff in Wildwood, Rohrman said that art would still be taught, but it would be done by the regular classroom teachers. About the loss of two counselors, he said that the two remaining high school counselors would have to handle all the district’s students.
In Wildwood Crest, Rohrman said that class sizes would increase. There have traditionally been two classes per grade, but the school consolidated two third-grade classes into one this year and would be doing so in two more grades next year.
In both districts, there will be some “scale backs” in extracurricular activities including sports and clubs.
“For sports, we are cutting back on some (stipend paid) assistant coaches and looking for volunteers,” Rohrman said. “We’re also eliminating some non-league games.”
He said some clubs would be combined and yearbooks would be scaled back.
Rohrman noted some other potential economies may help going forward, including the expansion of shared services between the two districts; as well as between the districts and the municipalities.
He mentioned sharing bids for everything from lawn cutting, to electrical and plumbing services, to HVAC maintenance, to purchasing paper towels, toilet paper and cleaning supplies. The districts would consider any such common ground between the four entities, he said.
“We’re facing the worst recession in 60 years, we’ll have to find a new way to operate and we’ll do what we can,” Rohrman said. “This is our generation’s turn to sacrifice and do things that are unpleasant.”
Voters rejected both budgets by large margins in the April 20 school district elections.
In Wildwood Crest, the budget, as it was initially introduced, called for a 4.4-cent tax hike. Prior to the vote, that budget was amended, reducing the increase to 1.03 cents. Following the $75,000 reduction by Borough Commission, the increase is now about .75 cents, for a tax rate of 26.25 cents, Rohrman said.
In Wildwood, the Commissioners’ reduction dropped the expected 2.6-cent increase by a penny. The 1.6-cent hike will increase last year’s 51-cent tax rate to 52.6 cents.
A Wildwood Crest property owner will pay about $262 per $100,000 of their home’s assessed value, while a Wildwood homeowner will pay $526 per $100,000.