Hawthorne budget cuts dialed back after state restores $400K in aid. See details

HAWTHORNE — The borough school board has restored an alternative education program at the high school after Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill to boost funding for districts that lost state aid.

Schools Superintendent Richard Spirito said the one-time allocation of $398,124 will be spent to cover the cost of the HOPE counseling program and its staff at Hawthorne High School.

The program was among a handful of budget casualties.

The K-12 district learned in February that its state aid was cut by $884,720. The 18.5% reduction was the largest in Passaic County.

Trustees were flabbergasted by the loss, and they appealed to the governor’s office to reverse the drastic cut. Local politicians and state lawmakers also wrote letters on the district's behalf.

After many districts made similar pleas throughout the state, Murphy signed legislation on May 14 to provide grants of up to 45% of the aid reductions. The bill — A4161 — appropriates $44.7 million for that purpose.

Spirito said he was pleased the district received a portion of the money it lost, but he added that his administration was leery about what may happen in the future.

“You have to be careful about recurring costs,” Spirito said last week, when the Board of Education passed a measure to assign the restored funding.

“We don’t know what next year will bring,” he added. “We hope that we’re not in the same situation.”

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Alex Clavijo, the school board vice president, agreed with the superintendent. “The Band-Aid we got doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to be of any benefit to us next year,” he said.

The dollars returned to the district will not affect the amount owed by taxpayers, Spirito said.

The HOPE program, instituted before the 2021 school year, provides counseling, transition planning and treatment for students and their families. It costs $163,755.

HOPE stands for Hawthorne Opportunity Provides Empowerment.

Public school districts in New Jersey can operate alternative education programs for youth at risk of school failure if they meet certain criteria.

In addition to that program, Spirito said, the restored funding allowed officials to undo previous cuts of a custodian and one of two teachers. He said $20,000 was also put back in the spending plan for substitute nurses.

Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: devencentis@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Hawthorne NJ school budget cuts canceled after state aid restored