WEST MILFORD Following a thumbs down from the voters, The West Milford Board of Education faced further disappointment on Wednesday night when the township council decided to reduce its budget. The council told the board it must eliminate $300,000 from the budget. This figure was reduced by $69,000 from the sum the council had originally sought to demand. Despite some grim faces from school board members at the meeting’s conclusion, they took heart in limiting cuts to a mere one-half of 1 percent of their overall spending. Those who showed up at the polls on April 18, little more than 18 percent of those eligible, rejected the almost $61 million education budget proposed. Procedure demands the town council review the school budget and make revisions to the bottom line. There is no right by the council to insist where cuts are made; simply the extent the budget itself should be trimmed. Facing its own budget woes the council was daunted by the prospect of finding palatable reductions in a school budget with which none of the six-man body was familiar. So, the council hired Certified Public Accountant Matt Donohue to do the heavy work for them. Donohue presented his recommendations to the council 24 hours earlier. He advised a series of cuts which were almost all from surplus funds and cash reserves the school board had accrued over the years. Using $169,722 stored in a capital reserve account was Donohue’s largest single amount recommended for use in school spending. This item was to be crucial in the following night’s discussions. Superintendent of Schools Glenn Kamp set the tone for the board saying, “It is important for you [the council] to understand we have already made this budget extremely lean. In West Milford we spend $1100 per student less than the state average. We also have the lowest administration costs of any district in Passaic County.” Kamp also advised that any cuts made to their budget would hurt no matter how small. By revising the budget the council saved property tax payers an average of approximately $25 from their bill. With the council planning a $100 increase and county officials also likely to introduce a hike in their levy, property tax bills will rise significantly. Kamp, School Board Business Administrator Stephen Cea and Board President Midge Touw pleaded their case for leniency from the council’s final decision. It did make a small impact as expressed by council member James Warden, who suggested revising the total to be cut. Warden said, “What if we only take $100,000 from the capital reserve account and leave the remaining $69,000 still in it?” Warden had a particular interest in preserving the board’s plans to install new bleachers and a new gymnasium floor in the coming year. Brief discussions and discontented grumblings were passed back and forth among the council and board before general agreement to Warden’s plan was made. Phil Weisbecker summed up the municipality’s decision, “The council is doing what we have been directed to do. We propose a $300,000 cut.” Unanimously the council agreed to the figure with tacit acceptance from the education board. The board of education has one avenue left to reinstate their original budget; an appeal to the state. However, a successful petition is thought unlikely with such a small percentage cut.