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LINCOLN PARK - BOE addresses how to pay for field trips
(by Sid Johnston - Staff Writer - December 03, 2008)
LINCOLN PARK - The recent state-mandated school budget cuts are starting to have a ripple effect, and if you pass by a local Shop-Rite, you could see the results.
At its Nov. 25 meeting, the Board of Education (BOE) was mulling over how to come up with funding for the school’s music department, which is short on money needed to pay transportation for field trips. The BOE discussed some options, including standing outside the Shop-Rite with a tin can asking for donations. In a time where CEOs are going to Congress with their tin cans asking for donations, it seems the BOE might follow suit on a local level.
Some of the board members were uneasy with the idea of soliciting donations at the local supermarket.
“I am uncomfortable with the tin can outside of the Shop-Rite,” BOE President Perry Mayers said. “For a private entity, that’s one thing, but we’re a public organization.”
Mayers said that it is the taxpayers who fund the school, and to have the children “with their hands out” asking for more money just doesn’t seem right.
“I felt funny collecting money with a tin can outside of a local place when I was with my daughter collecting for the cheerleaders, and if funding is needed, I’d rather pursue a different route,” Mayers said.
“Boonton parents have done it to fund their trips,” BOE member Kevin Lancaster said. “I know I have been out there with my son and daughter.”
Lancaster said that the money always ends up going toward helping the kids.
“I know at times my son and some other kids would bring their musical instruments and start playing, and they took home a lot more than normal,” Lancaster said. “The reality is the state cut it, so we have to make up the money somehow.”
BOE Member Tom Bellas wondered if they could try alternative options such as a bake sale to raise the necessary field trip money. Bellas also suggested using options like a candy fundraiser to help assist in the cost.
“We’re asking the residents to pay their taxes, then are trying to supplement the missing funding with the candy fundraiser,” Bellas said.
“There were things that we were customarily used to doing. That is no longer available because there is no funding for the transportation,” Superintendent Jim Grube said. Grube said he is not familiar enough with the borough to know how it would react to supermarket fundraising.
BOE Member Carol Nielsen said that the residents generally see some organization or entity outside of the Shop-Rite every other week.
The music department, which covers the band and chorus sections at the school, would normally sponsor trips to perform at places like the Rockaway Mall and various senior citizens outlets. According to Business Administrator Jim Tevis, the average cost for an afternoon bus trip ranges between $500 and $1,000.
The budget for field trips is $37,660 for the 2008-09 school year.
The state cuts that Lincoln Park is struggling to recover from include $46,652 in the area of transportation, reflecting a 8.74-percent decrease that left the borough with $487,356.
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