East Windsor Officials Question State's Claim That Town Underfunding Education Budget

East Windsor officials Tuesday decided to tell the state that the town intends to be in compliance with minimum budget requirements for school funding but they are seeking a few answers.

East Windsor is one of 11 communities warned by the state Board of Education that they haven’t met minimum budget requirements for school funding.

The state agency sent a letter to East Windsor officials two weeks ago informing them that the town had underfunded the schools budget by $105,812. If the town doesn’t come up with the extra money, the state could penalize East Windsor by deducting two times that amount, or $211,624, from its 2013-14 education cost sharing funding, the letter says.

The boards of education, finance and selectmen held a special meeting Tuesday to address  how to handle the situation. Board members questioned whether the state has the correct information, if the town can be made to change a budget that was approved by referendum, and if the town can seek a waiver while researching its questions.

Town Treasurer Catherine Cabral said the state came up with a new formula in July. Cabral said state officials need a response from the town of what it intends to do by Wednesday. Originally the response was due on August 31, but Superintendent of Schools Theresa Kane asked for an extension.

Cabral recommended the town pay the $150,812 to be in compliance with the state mandate. The money has to be an added appropriation and can’t be paid from moving around funds in the current budget, she said.

The state may waive the forfeiture of the ECS money if the town promises to appropriate an amount that is more than the minimum budget requirement and at least equal to the penalty the 2013-14 fiscal year, the letter says. The town can also seek a waiver for good cause.

Board of Finance Member Marie DeSousa asked why the town is not going back to the state and asking why the information was not given to them before the 2011-12 budget was finished.

Board of Finance Chairman Jack Mannette said he believes the state has made a mistake and that the town was using the fiscal 2009 budget as a base year for how much education funding was increased. In July, after the town budget was approved, the state changed the baseline to fiscal 2010-11.

Town officials never included the $782,109 federal stimulus money as part of the board of education budget in its calculations, Mannette said. The state apparently did, he said.

“We treated the money as a grant,” Mannette said.

Cabral said she told state board of education officials that information, and the officials maintain that their calculations are correct.

“They said we are in noncompliance, it has nothing to do with the grant money,” Cabral said.

If the town does agree to pay the $105,812, officials would have to seek approval from voters at a referendum because of the town charter, board members said.

“Have you considered what would happen if you said “yes we’ll pay the $105,000” and you go to referendum and it’s rejected,” Robert Little, board of finance member, said.

Kane said she will talk with state board of education officials and do her best to get them to extend the time with which East Windsor can make a decision.

“You folks have questions that have to be answered that if not would lead to problems down the line,” Kane said.

First Selectwoman Denise E. Menard and Kane are drafting a response to the state saying the town wants to be in compliance but has some questions that need to be answered. They will send it to the state by the end of the day, Menard said.