Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • April 4, 2012 Wyckoff K-8 school budget includes $56 average tax increase by John Koster The Wyckoff K-8 school budget introduced on March 26 will increase taxes on the average township house assessed at $811,800 by about $56. The tax impact was called the lowest in the past 15 years. The total budget of $37,707,131 will require a local tax levy of $34,296,610. Board of education sources report that 92.8 percent of the money will come from local property taxes, with 2.4 percent from state aid, and 4.8 percent from the appropriated fund balance, with another 0.2 percent labeled as miscellaneous. The general fund of $35,257,922 requires a local tax levy of $32,638,837. The 2012-13 K-8 school budget came in under the state-mandated cap of two percent. As a result, the spending plan will not be placed on the school board election ballot in November. The school budget for the K-8 schools does not include property taxes to support the regional high school, the municipal government, or Bergen County. The K-8 school budget includes a savings of $97,320 on benefits for full-time employees that were not charged due to privatization. Over the past several years, the Wyckoff K-8 Board of Education has privatized the school custodians with Pritchard and the school food service with Pomptonian. The custodial outsourcing in particular was controversial, with some parents and some teachers objecting both for sentimental reasons and for the perceived possibility of security problems with outsiders, but the board cited the financial importance of saving all possible money on services not directly related to education, and ultimately approved the privatization. The total capital outlay for the elementary schools of $952,000 covers an electrical upgrade for the Coolidge, Washington, Lincoln, and Sicomac schools at $680,000, $100,000 for wireless communications, $72,000 for a TV security monitoring system, and $100,000 for split system air conditioning. Capital outlay for the Eisenhower Middle School includes $18,000 for the closed-circuit TV monitoring system and $25,000 for split system air conditioning. School official noted that Wyckoff’s K-8 enrollment is up by 17 students to a total of 2,289, an increase from 2,272 last year, which had represented a decrease from the 2,325 students reported in 2010-11. April is spring cleaning month in Wyckoff, and a number of town-wide programs will begin operating this week. The spring leaf collection began April 2 in District 1 and will continue through April 12. The trucks will follow the numerically sequential schedule, proceeding from District 1 through District 8. The newly-designated Districts 9 and 10 will figure in November’s general and school board elections, but will not affect this year’s leaf collection. The new districts will be part of the 2013 collection sequence. Spring cleaning programs set to begin The leaf collection will end on April 16. The last day to rake leaves to the curb for the spring collection will be April 14. The Department of Environmental Protection has mandated that leaves may not be placed on the paved roadway or closer than 10 feet to any storm drain. This mandate is part of the Federal Clear Water Act. Branches and twigs may not be placed among the leaves because the branches and twigs clog the vacuums in the (continued on page 17)