Burlington County parents and students on edge over budget issue

BURLINGTON COUNTY, N.J. (FOX 29) - A budget problem in Burlington County has some students and parents on edge. Schools are going to have to make cuts and the question remains what programs will end up on the chopping block.

Several hundred parents packed the Shawnee High School auditorium to learn how a projected $24 million dollar shortfall would impact the Lenape Regional High School District and several neighboring K-8 districts.

Officials from the impacted districts teamed up to inform parents on where the school funding numbers stand now and how it could change in the future if state lawmakers do not act.

The stated reduction within the law will occur over a seven-year period. We're in the first year right now," Evesham Superintendent John Scavelli Jr. said.

No cuts to sports, music or art programs have been proposed yet, but district leaders cannot guarantee any specific programs can be saved outright as time goes on.

All of it makes parents nervous.

Administrators say one potential option would be to require parents pony up some cash to keep some programs alive.