Belleville School Budget's $272 Tax Increase Sparks Anger

Spending increases prompted two screaming matches Monday night during the Belleville Board of Education's passage of the $63.5 million school district budget for the 2013-14 academic year, a plan that raises taxes an average of $277 for a home assessed at the township average.

Officials did not give the specific home assessment value during the chaotic budget public hearing, which also saw a shouting match between school board member Joseph Longo and frequent school critic Vincent Frantantoni.

The board is spending $507,000 on armed security officers and other equipment upgrades for each district school, a subject that spurred a screaming match between Longo and Frantantoni.

School Board Vice President Patricia Inaugurato yelled to the audience, "I encourage all of our residents to vote no" for the spending plan during the April 16 election, after she tried to talk about her disappointment that the plan increased spending in ways with which she disagrees.

Inaugurato was shouted down by the rest of the board because the members said she was supposed to comment during the board comments part of the meeting, not during the actual vote, which was 4-2 in favor of the spending plan.

Longo also voted no.

"I was very proud of the board's work in keeping tax increases to zero for two years, but this year's budget increase..." she said before being cut off by board member Bill Freda and others.

Before Inaugurato spoke out, Longo and Frantantoni clashed after Frantantoni said he was allowed to enter the board of education offices at the high school without being detected by school security and after he called for the security director to be fired.

"How dare you sneak around and try and sneak into the school," Longo yelled at Frantantoni. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

The two also clashed about whether the opinion of some law enforcement officials that local police should provide security instead of paying for retired, certified security officers.

"They have no law enforcement powers, and give a false sense of security," Frantantoni said. "We don't need this."

Longo argued that, "the security is not here to arrest people; they are here to protect the schools. We are being looked at as a model for the entire state."

As for the budget, the total state aid for kindergarten through grade 12 in the district for fiscal year 2013 was $25,130,065, according to Longo.

The projected total aid to Belleville in fiscal year 2014 is $25,630,065, or an increase of $500,000, Longo said.

The budget increases resolve many security issues in all of the schools after the Sandy Hook shootings last December, Longo said, and almost all of the facility issues involve security, from updating phone and security camera systems to general modernization of the buildings.

Last year, the board's final 61.3 million 2012-2013 school budget contained zero dollar tax increase for a home assessed at $244,562, the average value of a home in Belleville last March, and was the second year in a row that the average tax bill did not rise.

This year's budget goes before voters April 16 for approval or rejection, and will appear on the ballot during the school board election.

The school board election will be uncontested, with incumbent John Rivera, Lillian Torres, and Raymond Kuebler slated for the three, three-year terms.

Rivera challenged Christine Lamparello’s petition to run and it was later disqualified, according to officials.

The other two incumbents this year, Inaugurato and three-term board trustee Vincent Strumolo chose not to run.