Millstone Township’s school budget for the 2005/2006 school year contains a number of extravagant line items and a faulty approach to budgeting.

1. Dean of students position: What is this position? Is the Millstone school a university? We already have a superintendent, assistant superintendent for business, assistant superintendent, and principals and vice principals for each school. This position is fluff.

2. Curriculum coordinator ($80,953) — “responsible for coordinating the implementation of the curriculum plan.” We already have a curriculum director that plans the curriculum in collaboration with the teaching staff. Let the curriculum director coordinate the plan.

3. Technology supervisor — “coordinate implementation of video, voice, and data systems as designed.” The requirements for these systems were specified by one or more school personnel and contracted for design and installation by a systems integrator. The personnel staff that specified the systems can coordinate with the systems integrator to ensure implementation. In addition, plenty of technology professionals reside in the township, including myself. The technology supervisor function is not a full-time need. It can be satisfied if need be by volunteers within the township on an as-needed basis

4. “Ninety one percent of the school budget represents fixed costs — tuition, salaries, benefits, energy” — according to the assistant superintendent for business. Assuming fixed costs indicates a one-dimensional mentality — continue to grow the bureaucracy. It is what is called in the system engineering field “creeping functionalism” — just keep adding on year after year. Never stop to think or challenge or look for a better way. I challenge the administration to use the newly installed technology to deliver a more efficient education. For one thing, technology can be used to expand the span of control of teachers and teaching assistants, thereby allowing for somewhat larger class sizes and a reduced staff.

I challenge the administration to prove how a dean of students, a curriculum coordinator, and a technology supervisor will deliver a more thorough education in measurable quantitative terms. Prove how grade scores will increase, how proficiency test results will improve. The mentality of creeping functionalism should be replaced by zero-based budgeting. Start with a clean slate each year. Have every project and program prove itself. Look for improved ways to accomplish goals. Don’t accept and propagate the status quo. Other questionable items exist in the budget, but space does not permit me to go into them. I will not vote to approve this budget as it stands.

Gregory M. Cinque

Millstone