SPARTA – Facing an $800,000 deficit, the Sussex County Technical Schools Board of Education plans to cut four teaching positions and eliminate three academic tracks that students can choose to focus on during their high school years.
The decision came after the school's Board of Education, made up of the Technical Education Committee and the County Commission, approved a final budget of $15,002,143. The reduced budget proposal would have increased by 6.69% compared to the current year's spending package.
Excluded are the club's more than 60 members, who specialize in the popular fields of study architecture, graphic design and theater arts, as well as the production of the annual school play.
In a letter to the New Jersey Herald, one of several letters the news station has received from citizens, Teresa Markham wrote: I feel like a junior, not to mention an incoming freshman who competed last September and was accepted into one of the programs. ”
Although not an official charter school, Sussex Tech's popularity is due to waiting lists and competition for spots in regular factory jobs such as welding, auto repair, and carpentry, as well as more specialized programs such as architecture and drama. It happens so often. Arts, Law Enforcement, Photography/Videography. A total of 19 specialties were offered this year.
Principal and Superintendent Gus Modra said three programs will be eliminated next school year, while staff layoffs will be determined by seniority and qualifications, and a total of four positions will be eliminated.
Chair Jill Spaeth, who serves on the school's budget committee for the technical college, along with commissioners Jack DeGroot and Earl Schick, as well as several representatives from the school, announced that the board had approved the school's budget for next year. Stated.
“They set the budget,” he said of the process. [board of estimate] approved. “
Vocational school business manager Jenny Duell said the school is funded by three main sources. Student tuition fees charged to the student's region of residence. Amounts from the Commission as part of annual tax collections and state aid.
He explained that while commissioners approved a 2.85% increase for the county portion of the budget pie, the state portion has “continued to have flat funding for several years.”
Modra said “core courses” will not be affected, but after-school “pick-up” late bus schedules will be changed. These buses provide transportation for students participating in after-school activities such as clubs, athletics, and other extracurricular activities.
The school is open to any high school student in the county, and admission has been highly competitive over the years, with students selected through grades, exams, availability in their chosen field, and interviews.
In his letter to the Herald, Markham included a letter from Jessica Nicole Majchuk. She described herself as a “freshman in architecture,” and attended the school's open house when she was in middle school, she said.
“Two years ago, when I first walked into an architecture shop at Tech Trek, I didn’t just see computers and tools; I literally saw my dreams, my visions, turned into creations that I didn’t even know existed. I saw the future being built. The architecture shop was more than just a room to me, it was a place where I learned values such as precision, creativity, and teamwork, and where I discovered my passion.
“It was a promise of opportunity, a gateway to a world of possibilities far beyond our four walls. I dreamed of what my future would be once I finally found what I wanted to do.”
“We know that decisions like these are difficult and often involve considerations beyond our immediate understanding. “I can't help but feel the pain of a lost promise,” she concluded.
Asked about the possibility of finding the additional funding needed to continue the program and staffing, Space said, “No answer.”
The technical school's board of education will meet Thursday at 4 p.m. in the auditorium on Route 94 across White Lake Road from the school.
