Midland Park March 13, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 7 In the aftermath of the facilities referendum that was defeated in December, the Midland Park Board of Education has decided to seek funds to tackle one of the most pressing problems through a separate question on the April school election ballot. The board decided last week to add a second question to the 2013-14 school budget ballot, asking for a one-time $955,075 expenditure to fix the roofs at all three of the borough’s schools. If approved, the measure would provide funds to complete roof repairs at Highland and Godwin schools and complete about 45 percent of the work needed at Midland Park High School. Some work was done at Godwin and at the high school last summer with $484,000 from the operating budget. “Roofing repairs have been a persistent issue at our three buildings long before this board and administration took control,” said School Board President William Sullivan. “Due to the high cost of replacing roofs and the inherent problems with flat roofing systems in particular, the board has been unable to include anything more than Separate ballot question to seek roof repair funds minimal repairs in our annual budgets through the years. By passing this second question, the district will be able to complete roof replacements at both Highland and Godwin, along with a large portion at MPHS.” Board Finance Chairman Robert Schiffer said many residents had requested that the job be handled through a second question. The defeated December referendum included $2,392 million for roof repairs. The roof repair question would cost the owner of a house assessed at $400,000 (the average house is valued at $392,000) an additional $359.85 next year only. The proposed 2013-14 current expense budget of $20,286,206, also introduced last week, is down $118,794 from the current year’s budget, due in part to a decrease of $523,469 in capital outlay. The amount to be raised by taxation, however, is up $249,907, or 1.95 percent. The owner of a house assessed at $400,000 would pay $131.85 in additional taxes to support the budget only. Both proposals will have a public hearing on Tuesday, March 26 at 8 p.m. in the August DePreker Library at High- land School. The document, which must first be approved by the county office, will be posted on the board’s website prior to the public hearing. Frank Post, a life-long resident of Midland Park, has withdrawn from the April 16 school board election. Post, whose candidacy would have assured a four-way race for the three available seats on the board of education, announced his withdrawal last week. Asked to comment on his decision, Post told Villadom TIMES that circumstances have changed since he filed for election. He indicated that he is withdrawing for personal reasons involving a work assignment that will conflict with the Midland Park Board of Education’s meeting nights. Post’s decision leaves the election uncontested, with incumbents: Sandra Criscenzo, Richard Formicola, and Brian McCourt seeking re-election. The local school election, one of the few in the area that Challenger withdraws from race was not switched to coincide with the November general election, is scheduled for Tuesday, April 16. The polls will be open from 2 to 9 p.m. Criscenzo, currently the board’s vice president, is seeking her third term. She is an elementary school assistant principal and former teacher with the Livingston School System and a clinical faculty member at Montclair State. Formicola is a vice president at Merrill Lynch/Bank of America. He is seeking his second term on the board. McCourt has been in the banking industry for 30 years and is currently senior vice president/chief financial officer at Bogota Savings Bank.