To the Editor: Two years ago, the New Jersey Legislature enacted S-1701, a law designed to limit the growth of local school spending to no more than the prevailing rate of consumer inflation. In addition, the law restricted the accumulation of surplus or “rainy-day” fund reserves by one-third of usual levels. While the intent of our legislators may have been to contain property taxes more than half of which typically support local schools unforeseen circumstances and the new law have combined to leave most New Jersey school boards scrambling for budgeted funds to meet basic needs. The culprit is the recent prolonged surge in the cost of motor and heating fuels. The impact of $60-per-barrel oil impossible to predict when S-1701 was passed has added millions of dollars to school expenses across the State. The situation is especially difficult in West Milford, where our bus and van fleet typically registers one million miles of service per year and most of our school buildings are heated with natural gas. Even though we make every effort to purchase motor and heating fuels at the best available prices, we will likely face additional unbudgeted expenses of several hundred thousand dollars over the -2006 school year. In order to deal with this expense gap, we need more flexible budget constraints. Recognizing the growing crisis, the New Jersey Assembly voted unanimously in June to exempt fuel cost overruns from the S-1701 limits. Unfortunately, the state Senate did not see fit to follow suit, in spite of lobbying by us and many other New Jersey school boards. The failed Senate bill S2278 is not yet on the 2006 legislative calendar. Public support will be crucial if this or any similar measure is to become law. We urge local residents to call or e-mail the key public officials listed below with this simple message: please give our local school officials the flexibility to deal with high fuel costs by amending or repealing S-1701! We have instituted several operational changes to conserve fuel as much as possible while preserving the health and safety of our students and staff. These measures are no substitute, however, for a less-rigid budget law that acknowledges our place in an increasingly uncertain world. The West Milford Township Board of Education Midge Touw, President Wayne Gottlieb, Legislative Co-Chair Official Contacts: Governor Jon S. Corzine, 609-826-5100 (Transition Office) transition@govelect.state.nj.us Senate President Richard J.Codey, 973-731-6770 Senator Shirley K. Turner, 609-530-3277 Senator Wayne R. Bryant, 856-757-0552 Senator Robert J. Martin, 973-984-0922 www.njleg.state.nj.us is the Legislature’s website. To reach e-mail message forms for each member, search members alphabetically, and then select “Contact Your Legislator.”*