CRANFORD — The Cranford Board of Education announced this week that it plans to use the proceeds from the sale of $75,031,000 worth of bonds to help offset the tax levy.
The bond sale, the district’s Business Administrator Bob Carfagno said, will lower the projected total tax impact per household from $410 per average home to $377 per average home.
“The timing is right in the market, so the risk does change,” he explained. “Now is the time to sell. The other important issue is cash flow – we don’t have any. As bills come in for permits, designs, etc. we don’t have cash to pay for these bills. We plan to invest in interest bearing accounts, which will allow us to use the interest earnings to offset the taxes on an annual basis. We are anticipating that we’ll earn about $2 million in the first year from interest. We’ll be using the interest earnings to offset the debt, which we mentioned several times during the referendum process. “
The board plans to take bids in June and have the cash in July.
Once the bonds are sold and the board receives the payment schedule, they will submit it to the State of New Jersey and the state will give them 26 percent of their debt service for that year as reimbursement. Mr. Carfagno was asked by Board Member William Hulse to explain the relationship between the bonds that will be sold and another that will be refinanced.
“While one bond is being sold, another bond was refinanced and is due in 2030, which will be principal level, so if interest goes up, the principal goes down to keep it level,” Mr. Carfagno explained. “This issue will go up a bit and actually save close to a million dollars. So when the 2030 bond drops off, this bond will increase. The debt service impact will be in light of this new bond. Periodically bonds are sold and issued at 4.5 to 5 percent but potentially if the interest rate goes down, they can be refinanced if the rate changes at a later date.”
The board also included expenditures to upgrade network equipment, which is possible thanks to the federal E-rate program. The board mentioned that the district is often too far from the poverty level to qualify for these types of grants. A resolution was passed to award a contract to TD Equipment Finance for these services at a rate of 4.68 percent per year at approximately $136,758.77 per year of five years.
Several resolutions were also passed to renew contracts for transportation services, including contracts with J&J Transportation, Amaker & Porterfield Management, LLC, and Villani Bus Company.
The board also honored teachers and staff from Livingston School, Bloomfield Avenue School, Orange Avenue School, Walnut Avenue School, and Hillside Avenue School. Recipients were awarded a 20232024 Educator of the Year Award or Educational Professional of the Year Award for their hard work and dedication.
“We heard a lot of words tonight such as ‘compassionate’, ‘passionate’, and ‘kind,” said Superintendent Scott Rubin, Ed.D. after the awards were presented and the staff members were recognized for their dedication and service.
Lisa Burfeindt, the district’s Director of School Counseling, gave a presentation on suicide prevention shortly after the awards ceremony wrapped up for the evening.
The presentation began with a short video that explained HOPE Squad, a program aimed at suicide prevention where a group of students are trained to identify signs of suicide. They are also trained to intervene when they notice these signs.
“This is a peer-to-peer prevention program and targets students to be there for their peers. The goal is to really create connections between the students. They are trained to come to us with the information, but the students are trained to also be a resource to save lives. The peer is advised to go to a counselor and members are trained in suicide prevention, but eventually we do want to put them in touch with a trusted adult,” Ms. Burfeindt said.
Members of the HOPE Squad were featured at the district’s recent Wellness Fair and the district is able to implement the program after a local family put them in touch with the Cully Strong Foundation who donated $13,000 for curriculum and training.
“I think it has the potential to be really powerful since kids tend to gravitate more to each other, especially at this age,” said Board Member Jessica Soltys.
Board President Kurt Petschow expressed gratitude that the district is able to add a program while so many others are cutting programs due to limited budgets.
“So many districts are cutting programs but the fact that we are able to add a program like this is really great and speaks volumes about the district and what is happening here,” he said.
