Mayors favor consolidation — for school districts BY SHERRY CONOHAN Staff Writer LITTLE SILVER — Schools appeared to top everyone’s list for where consolidation of services might work when the Two Rivers Council of Mayors met on Saturday. The mayors, under the leadership of Red Bank Mayor Edward J. McKenna Jr., also discussed whether police, municipal courts, fire departments and public works departments might be merged. The answer was unclear except that everyone seemed to agree that something must be done about the runaway costs of education. Oceanport Mayor Gordon Gemma said it was reported at a meeting called by Gov. James E. McGreevey, who’s promoting consolidation of municipal services, that New Jersey pays more for schools, by far, than any other state in the country. McKenna said that he learned at that meeting that New Brunswick has just hired a new superintendent of schools for $250,000, which is more than the governor earns. "That’s inexcusable," said Little Silver Mayor Suzanne S. Castleman. Shrewsbury Mayor Emilia M. Siciliano deplored pouring money into the Abbott districts with no accountability. McKenna noted that the governor said it’s wrong to send tons of money into the Abbott districts, which are found to be the most needy financially, without demanding accountability. Mayor Gregory W. Harquail of Sea Bright cited his town’s long suffering with a heavy load from the Shore Regional High School District, in which the borough is taxed $44,500 for each of 31 students it sends to the school. Gemma then advised him that "a guy from Denville beat you." Gemma said he met the man at the state meeting, and was told that community is paying $60,000 for each student it sends to the Morris Hills Regional District in Rockaway. "Something is inherently wrong when one town is paying $60,000 and another is paying $9,000," McKenna volunteered. Rumson Mayor Charles S. Callman said his town pays an inordinate amount for the students it sends to the Rumson-Fair Haven High School district. He said when the regional district was formed in 1965, the capital improvements were to be paid on a ratables basis with Rumson putting up 72 percent and Fair Haven 28 percent, and the operational costs were to be paid on a per-student basis. When the state law was changed in the 1970s, he said, Rumson was assessed 72 percent of all the costs, operational as well as capital. He said it works out to about $9,000 per student. Eatontown Mayor Gerald J. Tarantolo, a former board of education member, noted that 65 to 70 percent of any budget is salaries, whether it be teachers or police officers. He observed that both teachers and police use salaries in other towns to bolster their positions in negotiations. McKenna said teachers earn at least $35,000 now, but Castleman said not too many of them do. Most earn $60,000 to $70,000 or more, she said. Siciliano said she didn’t know how to regionalize police departments. McKenna offered no encouragement. He reported than when Shrewsbury borough offered Shrewsbury Township the opportunity for borough police to patrol the township, the township said no. Tinton Falls Mayor Ann McNamara pointed out the borough patrols were offered for money and the township turned it down because it could get the State Police for free. Gemma told of another failure. He said Oceanport had approached Monmouth Beach about combining their courts, but when they looked into it they found they wouldn’t realize any savings. Gemma suggested another possible area for savings was fire equipment. "In northern Monmouth County there is more fire equipment per capita than in New York," he said. But Castleman shot down that idea, saying a fire department is "like a fraternity, it’s a generational affair," in which volunteers follow in the footsteps of their fathers. Gemma said the fire departments already are facing a dearth of volunteers. He said he didn’t favor consolidation for the sake of consolidation, as Oceanport’s exploration of sharing a municipal court with Monmouth Beach showed no economy. Little Silver Borough Administrator Michael D. Biehl also pointed out that when municipal courts are merged, as opposed to just sharing facilities, they lose the power to appoint their own judges. He said in such mergers, the state appoints the judges. Ending on a more positive note, McKenna told the other mayors that Red Bank is getting ready to build a new public works building and invited them to speak up if they would like space in it to store anything. He said Red Bank would be happy to coordinate with the other towns. If it came to no other conclusion, the Council of Mayors agreed they would miss three departing members and bid them a fond farewell: Harquail from Sea Bright, Callman from Rumson and Gemma from Oceanport. They will be toasted at a cocktail party on Jan. 10.