Council needs to move on budget Monday night

The North Brunswick Township Council should move quickly to approve the school’s defeated budget with the proposed $300,000 in cuts.

The clock is ticking.

The council needs to take some action on this before Monday turns into Tuesday, according to state law.

Council President Francis "Mack" Womack’s proposed $300,000 in cuts is a figure that Schools Superintendent Bob Rimmer said is substantial, and something that the Board of Education "can be comfortable" with.

In the balance is some 30 percent of the district’s staff with letters in hand saying that they may not have a contract for next year.

While the Reduction in Force letter is not a pink slip, it is certainly cause for an employee to pay a little closer attention to the help-wanted ads.

Around 200 letters have been sent to the district’s nontenured employees as required by law.

Those employees had to be notified by May 15 that the district may not have a contract for them.

The education field in New Jersey is very competitive, and many of the districts in the state would like to get their hands on some of the talent in North Brunswick.

Residents should remember that much of the district’s budget woes were caused by the state by not giving more aid this year.

This is a year that all taxpayers need to dig deeper to support the school programs we want.

If the board decides that it does not like the cuts eventually proposed by the council, it can appeal to the state commissioner of education.

That could mean no cuts at all.

The present proposal will take about 1 cent of the tax rate, and that is a good amount.

We also have to remember that the budget only failed by 49 votes, which is not exactly a huge mandate.

Residents should attend Monday night’s council meeting to make sure that some action is taken. They need to do the right thing and move this process along.