The Gloucester Township Board of Education held a regularly scheduled board meeting on March 21, with agenda items that included a tentative budget for the 2022-’23 school year, which begins July 1.
The total budget for the district is set at $143,300,661, with $53,831,761 of that from the local school tax. Included in the general fund is $2,050,000 to be withdrawn from the board’s approved capital reserve accounts for other capital project costs, including expenditures for construction projects.
The capital reserve funds will be used for four construction projects: replacement of fire alarm systems, parking lot resurfacing, roof replacements and gym bleacher replacement.
Superintendent John Bilodeau said the budget is “back to normal” after two years of operating with fluctuations caused by the pandemic, but that other general expenses match previous years.
“Salaries and benefits are always rising, but as far as an operational year that doesn’t have coronavirus in it, that’s what our budget represents,” he explained. “We plan to go back to full operations and not have any restrictions put on us.”
Not listed on the agenda, but discussed in depth, were goals the board came up with to mirror those from the administration that schools in New Jersey develop each year. The board goals were not finalized, so Bilodeau chose to exempt them from the agenda.
“The board was still going back and forth and fine tuning,” he noted. “It just wasn’t quite finished, so I wanted to insert that discussion [to the public] … The three goals discussed [but not finalized] were one, transparency; two, communication; and three, compliance.”
Also discussed among board members was the release schedule for its agenda. The board reached agreement for the date to be moved from the Friday before the meeting to the Wednesday before, so board members would have more time to review it. Members have discussed feeling rushed to review agenda items over the weekend.
The board also recognized nurse Tara Walters for her work at the height of the pandemic. The district’s head nurse, she was responsible for overseeing staffing of other nurses in the fall, a period in which there were multiple retirements, resignations and other voids left in staffing. Walters filled in multiple times, including working a morning shift at one school, then finishing the day at another.
“Tara held it all together and worked with other nurses to make sure there was coverage,” said Bilodeau. “She was very valuable in what she did for the district. Thankfully, now we are fortunate to have coverage in all of our 11 buildings.”
The next board of education meeting will take place on April 25 at 7 p.m., at Charles W. Lewis Middle School.
