New Jersey schools, parents find ways to cope with budget cuts

With the first day of class still weeks away, Danielle Bannon and four other mothers from Glassboro's J. Harvey Rodgers School interrupted their summer for a brainstorming session.

Their mission: fund-raising.

In April, after a nasty spell of state aid cuts and budget slashing, the women had rallied back with a Chinese auction and three profit-sharing events at a Friendly's and a Rita's Water Ice. Before they knew it, they had pulled in nearly $1,600.

The goal for this academic year: saving the kindergartners' annual trip, which the district can no longer afford.

Raising money in tight times isn't easy, but "when we saw what the budget was going to look like, we got together and said, 'We need to do something to fill in the gap,' " Bannon said.

All around South Jersey, parents, educators, and other community members are devising ways to lessen the pain of funding shortfalls. Their efforts are unlikely to restore staff, programs, or smaller classes - prime areas where state aid cuts have affected districts, according to a survey by the New Jersey School Boards Association.

But they certainly can help. No longer just for "extras," cash from the intensified fund-raising is being used for things previously included in school or district budgets.

In Moorestown, the instrumental music program's parent group has long raised money for college scholarships, some bigger-ticket items such as instruments, and grants to teachers for desired nonessentials.

Last year, however, members were asked to help in acquiring sheet music. When there was no money for recognition plaques for graduating seniors, an annual tradition, the parents stepped up again.

Faith Weintraub, one of the parents, expects there to be additional no-frills requests this school year. "There's more of a need," she said.

Washington Township High School's athletic program got a boost of more than $3,000 on Aug. 13 at a first-of-its-kind community reunion and fund-raiser at Westy's Irish Pub in North Wildwood.

Pub owner Art West, whose 14 grandchildren live in the township, had heard about the budget cuts. He offered his place, food, and a DJ. The Fifth Quarter Club - the football team's parent group - pulled together the event, which benefited all sports.

"Whatever it takes," said club member Eleanor Bollendorf, whose husband, Joe, is principal of Washington Township High and whose four children went through the schools there. "Whatever is missing money, that's where we want it to go."

The Waterford Township Home and School Association plans to turn trash into dollars. Last year, president Melissa Eroh said, the group raised more than $1,000 recycling fruit-drink pouches. This year, it's also being reimbursed for used snack wrappers, tape rolls, glue containers, and ink cartridges. "We're upping our efforts," Eroh said.

Among the goals is to pay for all school trips and for elementary school character-education materials that were previously in the budget. Districts also are getting resourceful, scoping out new funding sources, pursuing shared services, and consolidating positions more than ever before.

Collingswood is soliciting donors through its website. It has taken over custodial services for the Oaklyn district and technology services for Bellmawr. It is sharing professional-development initiatives with Lindenwold. The service initiatives are expected to net $25,000 for his district and better service for all involved, Collingswood Superintendent Scott Oswald said. Collingswood and Oaklyn also are in discussions about sharing Oswald's services, which he said could save Collingswood $40,000 a year and Oaklyn $80,000.

The Lenape Regional High School District plans to rev up charitable organizations started last school year to support academic programs.

"It was a good idea then, and it's an even better idea now," said Ben Lamberson, an assistant principal at Shawnee High School in Medford.

Between rising costs and a tighter tax-levy cap, 2011 is likely to be another tough budget year, many in New Jersey's education community said.

"I don't think there's any question that the future is going to be harder and harder," said Steve Weinstein, president of the school board in Haddonfield, which lost all of its aid in the latest state budget.

Weinstein has created a volunteer committee to explore alternative funding. Marketing professionals, for example, will consider how to attract more tuition students from outside the district.

Graduate business-administration students at Rutgers University also will develop revenue ideas, Weinstein said. One is to market the district's advanced-placement courses to students without access to such offerings. The relatively affluent district is not "going to attract typical grants, because most are need-based," Weinstein said. "We have to look at our strengths."

In Waterford, where parent groups also are fund-raising, the district had the good fortune of winning grants to enhance math and language-arts programs in coming years.

The district "will definitely be seeking out more grants," said Will Maddox, principal of Waterford's Thomas Richards Elementary School.

Maddox took a grant-writing course this summer and is an example of another cost-shaving trend. He will absorb the duties of the principal of Atco Elementary, who left.

Brooklawn is a school-choice district; it receives aid for educating students from other districts. Superintendent John Kellmayer said he hoped new legislation would allow that revenue-producing program to be expanded in the 2011-12 school year. In the meantime, Kellmayer - who also is principal and child-study team leader at the district's only school - said Brooklawn had pursued more shared services and part-time or combined staffing. Rather than hire a business administrator, it will again use Audubon's part time and save about $40,000.

The district, which lost its information-technology position to budget cuts, will pay Audubon's tech person to maintain its server. A Waterford social-studies teacher will receive a stipend to take care of other tech needs.

"What we're doing, really, is not filling positions, and wearing several hats," Kellmayer said. "Is it hard to do? Yeah, but we're in a position where we have to do more with less."