Another school budget bombshell

Trenton — More bad news broke for boards of education across Sussex County on Tuesday. An e-mail from County Superintendent Rosalie Lamonte was sent to all county superintendents informing them they cannot cut all sports and co-curricular activities from their budgets. Lamonte said, “A district may not, under the current funding formula, eliminate all athletics/extracurricular activities.” She referred to a 2007 document published by the Department of Education, entitled, “Formula for Success,” which lists an amount per pupil for student activities that represents the minimum resources districts must allocate, based on the model enrollment per elementary, middle, and high school. Lamonte explained, “In comparison to the model, your district may enroll fewer or more students at each level. Therefore, for elementary schools, an amount equal to $58.82 should be calculated for each enrolled student. At the middle school level, the amount is $176.45 per pupil. High school is $470.53 per pupil.”