An NA Today Exclusive:
The Exploding cost of public education in North
Arlington!
A student enrolled in Pre-K today that graduates in 2021
will cost taxpayers an estimated $265,862 or $18,990 per year!
With school budgets increasing at 7% per year, the cost of
public education will be $45,390,651 annually by 2021, A 116%
increase!
NORTH
ARLINGTON - Taxpayers currently support a
$19M school operation that equates to roughly $11,875 per student based on a
population of 1,600 children. Based on a 180-day school calendar, the cost to
operate local schools is roughly $105,555 per school day!
But
what will be the cost of public education in 5, 10 or fifteen years?
Based
on a constant school population of roughly 1,600 students (a number that has
remained the same for virtually two decades), North Arlington's school
expenditures are rising at a cost of roughly 7%, three percentage points higher
than the mandated 4% CAP on spending imposed by the state of New Jersey.
The
estimated cost to educate a North Arlington student enrolled in Pre-K and
graduates from NAHS will cost roughly $265,862
over a fourteen year enrollment period (2008-2021) which would include
every grade offered by the district.
That
per pupil cost will be just under $19,000 per
year!
Based on constant or "flat" enrollment,
here is a quick forecast of
student cost between 2008 and 2021:
Grade |
Anticipated
Budget |
Cost per
pupil |
Year |
Pre-K |
$19,000,000 |
$11,875 |
2008 |
K |
$20,300,000 |
$12,867 |
2009 |
Grade 1 |
$21,721,000 |
$13,575 |
2010 |
Grade 2 |
$23,242,000 |
$14,526 |
2011 |
Grade 3 |
$24,689,940 |
$15,431 |
2012 |
Grade 4 |
$26,418,238 |
$16,511 |
2013 |
Grade 5 |
$28,267,514 |
$17,667 |
2014 |
Grade 6 |
$30,246,239 |
$18,903 |
2015 |
Grade 7 |
$32,363,475 |
$20,227 |
2016 |
Grade 8 |
$34,628,918 |
$21,643 |
2017 |
Grade 9 |
$37,052,294 |
$23,157 |
2018 |
Grade 10 |
$39,645,954 |
$24,778 |
2019 |
Grade 11 |
$42,421,170 |
$26,513 |
2020 |
Grade 12 |
$45,390,651 |
$28,368 |
2021 |
"The cost of public education is exploding
at rates taxpayers can't possibly keep up. Keep in mind some 30% of
North Arlington households are on fixed incomes (pension, SS and
savings), how do taxpayers continue to support a system that is simply too
large, too burdensome and too costly?" said one former school trustee when
asked to examine the validity of future school budget forecasts.
"You
have five volunteers elected on a part-time basis to manage the cost of
education. They in-part rely on educational
bureaucrats, union leaders and other vested interests who want to see the costs
continue to increase. At some point the system will reach a breaking point.
The replication of mediocre school districts in terms of performance is
becoming financially prohibitive. "Like" districts such as
Lyndhurst & North Arlington should be mandated to merge, at least at the high school level. Asking
the public to continue to shoulder this burden is now bordering on the
ridiculous," said another former trustee who asked not to be identified.
While
operational expenses continue to explode, what would happen if the school
population began to increase?
"If EnCap ever became a reality, the per pupil cost would probably double. You would be looking at a $35M-$50M operational expense to say nothing of
another $35M investment to build an additional elementary school and another
$75 to $100M to construct a new high school. The
costs are truly shocking given today's cost per square foot," said one
borough insider.
While
most people say the prospect of Arlington Valley ever being constructed is remote, it's
important for taxpayers to realize the real cost of development that
concentrates on the residential component.
"If North Arlington ever needed a reason
not to construct new housing, that reason is the cost of public education. No developer will assume the massive costs involved in building schools or
upgrading current facilities. It cuts into margins and profits that can't be
compromised. Anyone who believes developers
have an open checkbook to build schools, parks and ball fields, go talk to the
people in Lyndhurst," said another longtime EnCap critic.
While
North Arlington successfully kept a lid on new taxes in 2008, the NA BOE as
well as the county of Bergen increased their respective levies.
In
addition, others believe Governor Jon Corzine is seeking new state legislation that will increase teacher minimum
salaries to $50,000! Should such legislation become law, the current teacher
salary guide in North Arlington would have to add an additional $11,000 to the
first step of the teacher's agreement!
"Governor
Corzine's mandate would simply raise property taxes at a rate much higher than
today. Couple that with other ideas such as
constructing 100,000 units of affordable housing and you begin to realize the
magnitude of the cost and who is going to pay," said one critic of
mandated state costs.
Mayor
Peter Massa, a longtime college instructor and former board president was
concerned about the future of public education here in the state as well as
North Arlington.
"Mandated
costs in terms of salaries and other expenditures are killing local
budgets. Ultimately, consolidation & merged efforts could be the only
choice for smaller units of government. Given the current economy, our decision
to stop EnCap in many ways saved this
borough as we know it. Keeping this municipality small, safe and suburban is
essential in keepin the community an appealing place to live and raise a
family," observed the Mayor.
