The COnnection
MARSD Central Office Newsletter - June 2018
A Message from Dr. Majka - Superintendent
Have a safe and fun summer break!
July Fourth Holiday
Summer Math and Reading Resources 2018
A Message from the Business Office - What's new?
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus is often credited with the phrase, “The only thing that is constant is change”. This year, the Business Office has experienced several changes. From payroll personnel, to policy changes, to the ongoing heating/cooling referendum work. Change can often be seen as a burdensome and negative proposition, a byproduct of a problem. Instead, I look at change as an opportunity, a challenge to raise the bar and look to do something great. This year, the Business Office has taken these changes as opportunities. One of the most impactful is the spotlight of healthcare costs. We all know that the need for healthcare is universal, everyone needs a doctor at some point. For decades, the public sector’s strategy on managing healthcare has focused on containing costs by slowly adjusting deductibles or copays. Areas that might seem appealing, but have little premium impact. The main reason for this is that such minimal changes do little to modify behavior nor provide substantial final benefits to the district or employee. I am excited to say that MARSD is the only district I know that is going beyond the typical cookie cutter approach to the problem, and with the support of the Board of Education, the organization is looking to offer more medical plans than in previous years. More plans that provide a diversity in levels of coverage, and more plans that will give employees true options on how to better manage their healthcare costs. There is no magic bullet when it comes to healthcare. Every employee’s medical history and needs are different, and as such we try to provide value as employees make decisions. Although we can identify dozens of variables that impact healthcare costs, it is important that the district continues to move forward with providing a comprehensive strategy that leaves no option unchecked with the goal of trying to manage costs. In addition to plan offerings, the district is in the planning stages of hosting a wellness fair with other community organizations as well as providing more educational resources to provide our staff with the best resources to make informed decisions. Medical benefits are approximately 15% of the district’s budget, second only to payroll costs. It is critical that the district tackle this challenge collectively with the effort it deserves. We cannot continue to kick the can down the road, and hope that someone else tackles this problem. Honestly, the financial stability of the district depends on our ability to identify, analyze and solve such issues. After all, every dollar that is not dissected and maximized, is a dollar that does not reach its full potential to help in the classroom. We look forward to such challenges, and opportunities for us to better the district and provide the best possible education to our students.
School Funding 101
Whether you are a random member of the community or a career educator, the probability that you have come across an article on New Jersey school funding over the past several months is pretty high. The issue at hand stems from the state aid calculation of the School Funding Reform Act of 2008. In essence, this piece of legislation was intended to address the inequities between districts throughout the state, and focus on the individual student not the district. Funding was to follow the student based upon his/her needs, not randomly to a district because it had been designated as at risk in some previous version of a funding formula. The attempt to strike the balance between local property taxes and state aid is a problem that the state has been trying to address for years. The intent of the funding formula was good, and the potential for the formula still exists. The problem is that for years, districts like Matawan-Aberdeen have not seen the formula be fully funded. This shortage of the formula has dramatic impacts because of the compounding effect of the lost revenue. As an example, if the district’s shortage ten years ago was $750,000, ten years later (at 2%) the value would be close to $900,000. Not only is the district’s base lower by close to $150,000, the lost revenue is manifested every year when the percentage share of the budget continues to shift more to the local levy raised by the community. To put it in perspective, at today’s dollars, $150,000 can buy two buses or pay for two teachers including benefits. For districts such as ours that have seen enrollment remain fairly flat, it is problematic and difficult to manage in the long term. Now, let’s imagine what the impact is in some of these communities that have seen dramatic enrollment increases, catastrophic! As the State Legislature and Governor continue to negotiate towards a longer-term fix to this problem, it is important to respect the process. The concern that we all have is that in the meantime thousands of students throughout the state are being impacted. We all understand that the problem wasn’t created overnight, nor will it be fixed overnight. The hope is that a solution is identified that supports our students without continuing the inequities to the local communities by continuing to increase the local tax payer’s portion of school funding.