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Resident questions $22.7 million in board payments; administrators say figure includes payroll and capital transfers
Summary
A public commenter pressed the Woodbridge Township Board of Education on a $22,736,369.26 payments item on the agenda. Business administrator provided a breakdown saying the total includes payroll, vendor bills and capital-project costs; a board member said some amounts reflect transfers from the capital reserve and require a budget readoption.
A public commenter asked the Woodbridge Township Board of Education on Oct. 16 to explain a $22,736,369.26 payments item on the finance agenda, prompting a brief explanation from the district’s business administrator and board members.
Tom Maris, identifying himself as a resident of Woodbridge Township, asked the board what the $22,736,369.26 covered and why the amount was so much higher than a typical monthly total. “What is that huge increase in expenditures? And I’m asking the board. You’re voting on it,” Maris said during the meeting’s public-comment period.
Business Administrator and Board Secretary Mister Wolferman told Maris the figure includes payroll, vendor bills across district programs, and capital-project payments tied to buildings and grounds. “We have bills. We have payroll. We have bills for all kinds of things, programs that we pay for,” Wolferman said, adding capital projects are included in some months when work is billed.
Board member Mister Trevasser (board member) explained the district also transferred money from its capital reserve account into the operating budget, a transaction that requires readopting the budget so the public is aware of the source of funds. “That’s a transfer from our capital reserve account. . . . It’s transferred. It’s required according to the accounting principles,” Trevasser said.
The board approved the finance committee’s items at roll call later in the meeting. Board members did not present a line-by-line public summary at the meeting; Wolferman said a complete list of payments is available and that the board had reviewed it earlier. Maris and other speakers raised broader questions about the district’s budget increases and tax rates during public comments.
The meeting record does not provide a month-by-month breakdown of the $22,736,369.26 total or the specific vendors and projects covered; Wolferman said a detailed list exists but did not read it into the public record. The board noted that transfers from capital reserves into the operating budget are standard accounting moves when capital work is financed in one account and paid from another, and that such transfers must be posted on the agenda to inform the public.
The board did not change or delay the vote on the finance items at the Oct. 16 meeting. Interested members of the public were advised to request the itemized payments list from the business office for further detail.
