West Essex Superintendent 'Pleased' With Flat State Aid

Local school districts reacted positively Friday to flat 2013-14 state aid figures released by the governor earlier this week, although it remains unclear what the impact might be of federal spending cuts that went into effect at the end of the day.

Caldwell-West Caldwell Schools will receive $961,290 in state aid, the same amount the district received last year, the governor announced Thursday afternoon.

The district waited to learn state aid figures this week to finalize the 2013-14 school budget.

“In the budget work that we have conducted over the past several months, the main scenario for which we had planned was flat state aid,” Caldwell-West Caldwell Schools Superintendent James Heinegg said Friday. “So we were prepared, and are moving forward accordingly.”

The Caldwell-West Caldwell Board of Education, Heinegg said, will approve the 2013-14 budget on Monday and send it to the county for approval next week.

Meanwhile, New Jersey could lose an estimated $12 million in funding for primary and secondary education, according to the White House, since Congressional leaders failed to reach a compromise on federal spending cuts, or the sequestration, by March 1.

Heinegg said the impact of sequestration, if any, may not be felt immediately.

“The latest that we have been hearing about the sequestration is that most consequences from a lack of agreement will be gradual,” Heinegg said. “That would therefore allow time for Congress and the President to work something out.  So even if the March 1 deadline comes and goes, a resolution sometime in the weeks ahead would still prevent any significant ill effects.”

West Essex Superintendent of Schools Barbara Longo said Friday she was pleased to hear the good news about the state aid figures for West Essex.

West Essex Schools the district received for 2012-13.

“It was a pleasant surprise to find out that we were not losing any state aid and neither was anyone else,” Longo said. “We were very happy to hear the news.”

The district did not comment on the sequestration.