Berkeley, Island Heights, Seaside Heights, Ocean Gate - zero. Seaside Park - $1.5 million

Central Regional world languages supervisor Louise Pesci stood quietly last night, waiting for officials to come out with possible cuts to the defeated school budget.

Four of the 11 teachers in her department were already cut before voters defeated the tax levy portion of the budget on April 27 And she is worried about the teachers who lost their jobs, larger class sizes and the impact on students.

"It's hard to see these people who worked so hard to create a program," Pesci said. "They are all good people and they don't deserve this."

Roughly 200 people - mostly teachers and students - jammed the presentation room at the high school to learn what, if any cuts might be made. Central Regional has five sending towns - Berkeley Township, Island Heights, Ocean Gate, Seaside Heights and Seaside Park.

Although voters in Island Heights, Seaside Heights and Ocean Gate approved the $27,489,152 tax levy portion of the Central Regional $33,252,531 budget on April 27, it went down in Berkeley Township and Seaside Park. The total vote was 2,485 to 2,379 - a difference of 106 votes.

“If  you pass the budget,  we won’t have to do this next year,” Parlapanides said.

Officials from Berkeley Township, including Mayor Jason J. Varano, Township Council President Karen Davis and Council Vice-President Carmen J. Amato Jr. and Ocean Gate Mayor Paul Kennedy attended the meeting.  Officials from Island Heights and Seaside Heights did not attend, but sent word that they would agree to zero cuts in the budget.

“Seaside Heights wants to cut zero from the budget," schools Superintendent Triantafillos "Tom" Parlapanides came out and told the crowd at one point. "Island Heights is happy with the zero."

But Seaside Park officials weren't happy. They left the room shortly after the meeting began, when Parlapanides got up to make his presentation. They never came back into the meeting room.

"They walked out the back door," Central Regional board member Robert J. Everett Jr. said disgustedly after the meeting. "They wouldn't even face the music."

Municipal officials adjourned to another room to discuss possible cuts after Parlapanides and schools Business Administrator/Board Secretary Kevin O'She finished their budget presentations.

“There is no extra money,” O’Shea said. “If there were extra money, we wouldn’t be laying people off.”

About 6:40 p.m., Central Regional board member Gail Coleman came out with an update for the crowd of teachers and students.

 “Seaside Park wants $3 million!” she shouted. "Got it?”

It was Coleman's last board meeting. She opted not to run for another term for the Seaside Park seat on the board.

Coleman came back out again at 6:58 p.m.

"Seaside Park is now at 1.5 million," she said. "That’s not good. That’s where they are at. If we could get them down to zero, but I don’t think that’s going to be realistic.”

It didn't happen. Municipal and school officials came back shortly after 7 p.m. and announced no progress had been made.

"Four of the municipalities have come to an agreement," Mayor Jason J. Varano said.

But not Seaside Park.

"We are too far apart to even consider further negotiations at this time," Varano said. "Seaside Park has a school funding formula issue. Right now Berkeley Township would be devastated. They can't seem to separate the school funding formula from the issue at hand."

"We are way too far apart," Central Regional board President Denise Pavone-Wilson told the crowd. "Come back and support us."

The Central Regional board's work is done, she said.

“At this point, their recommendations are what we have to take,”  she said.

"We've lost control of our budget," O'Shea said just before the meeting ended.

School taxes on a home in Berkeley Township assessed at the township average of $201,400 would have risen $0.94 cents per month. Seaside Park residents with a home assessed at the borough average of $558,160 would have seen the largest increase, at $20.65 per month. While property assessments went down in four of the towns, Seaside Park assessments rose three percent, Parlapanides said during his presentation.

The budget approval would have meant a hike of $18.74 a month for an Island Heights home assessed at the borough average of $388,981, primarily because of an influx of 15 additional students into the Central Regional school system.

Seaside Heights would have seen the only decrease — 78 cents per month on a home assessed at the borough average of $302,035. Ocean Gate property owners with an average assessed home value of $242,300 would pay an extra $3.13 per month.

The district is hampered by the small amount of state aid it receives. Central Regional only receives 11 percent state aid to fund the budget each year, unlike some other districts that receive much more, Parlapanides has said.

Will Jacobs, a health and physical education teacher at Central Regional Middle School, said during the break he was concerned about any more cuts.

"Yes, I'm worried for the well-being of the students," he said. "We know we have to be professionals, but we are scared."

Some audience members wanted to continue a public discussion after the announcement was made that no agreement had been reached. But officials said they would have more time at the May 16 meeting.

"If you have a comment, you're really preaching to the choir," Kennedy said.

'