County-funded Schools Get Budgets Approved

CREST HAVEN – Boards of School Estimate approved budgets to fund the Cape May County Technical School District and the Special Services School District for the 2018-19 year at the April 24 freeholder caucus. 
Special Services School District
Special Services School District Superintendent Barbara Makoski presented her 13th and final budget to the board. That spending plan was a decrease of $146,000, based on lower student enrollment, and seeks just over $4 million from taxpayers in a $12.1-million budget.
While she said the projection is for fewer students, “That could change over time,” she told Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton.
The decline in students was attributed to educational mandates in other public schools and the overall decrease in the county’s number of school-aged children.
Thornton asked if Makoski was aware if Coast Guard families still send their children to the district. Makoski replied that she was unaware of any Coast Guard children in the district, “There very well could be,” she added.
Makoski noted the increase of pupils classified with autism. She cited six autism classes in the district in 2009-2010 compared to 13 classes at present, four in the high school and nine in Ocean Academy.
She also stated that state regulations dictate the limited class size for autistic students in elementary grades to six with an age range no greater than four years. She has told her staff, “Be prepared to expand when necessary.”
The district includes students whose ages range from 3 to 21.
Makoski will retire June 30 which will enable the Board of Education of the Special Services School District and the Vocational School District of the County of Cape May.
Technical School District
Dr. Nancy Hudanich, who will superintend the districts, also made a budget presentation for the Technical School District. The budget of nearly $16.5 million will use just over $8 million from taxes. The tax levy is a 2 percent increase and equates to $158,109.
The high school will use $6.55 million of the tax levy while the Post-Secondary part will use $1.5 million.
“The increase was necessary to maintain all current programs,” Hudanich wrote in an April 18 letter to the Board of School Estimate.
The district has 591 full-time students and 72 career-technical students.
State funding increased $24,704 to nearly $1.5 million and comprised 9 percent of the general fund revenue.
Hudanich said that many think first of the district high school, but noted there are other facets, including the post-secondary classes, such as cosmetology, licensed practical nursing, and dental assistant.
In addition to those, she pointed to the evening continuing education classes as well as technical and enrichment courses.
There are also adult basic education and high school equivalency preparation and testing and an English as a Second Language course.
“All these divisions are equally important,” said Hudanich.