EATONTOWN - The Borough Council is calling for $190,000 to be trimmed from the defeated Monmouth Regional High School District budget.

The council voted unanimously 5-0 at its May 14 meeting to approve a resolution that calls for the Monmouth Regional High School Board of Education to reduce the tax levy of the proposed $25.4 million budget from $19,164,921 to $18,974,921.

The budget was turned over to the Eatontown council for review after it was defeated at the polls April 15.

Students from Eatontown, Tinton Falls and Shrewsbury Township attend the regional school, and voters in Shrewsbury Township also voted against the budget, while Tinton Falls voters approved it.

Approximately 9 percent of Eatontown taxpayers voted on the spending plan. Of the 1,954 residents who came out to vote at the polls, 51.04 percent voted no on the 2008-09 school budget.

Councilman John Schiels, head of the borough's finance committee, explained at the May 14 meeting that the council and Board of Education were unable to reach a consensus on how much the budget should have been reduced by.

"It is unfortunate that we haven't reached an agreement with Monmouth Regional High School," Schiels said.

Negotiations between the finance committee and the Board of Education were held as late as the afternoon prior to the May 14 meeting, without any agreement being reached, Schiels explained.

Despite the lack of an agreement, the Borough Council was legally obligated to take action on the high school's budget by the night of the May 14 meeting, Schiels said.

In order for the Board of Education to vote on the revised budget, the three host towns of the regional school must agree on the amount of reductions.

Under the defeated budget, Eatontown residents were asked to raise approximately $8.6 million, or 43.69 percent, of the $19 million tax levy.

Eatontown residents would see an $83,011 cut in the district's tax levy if the $190,000 reduction proposed by the Borough Council is approved by the other two host towns and the Monmouth Regional Board of Education.

Under the council's recommended $8,548,915 tax levy, borough residents would see a 1.1-cent tax rate increase, which amounts to 34.8 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation.

Monmouth Regional High School Superintendent of Schools James Cleary said that the negotiations process between the Board of Education and the council's finance committee was unfair.

According to Cleary, the council had initially proposed a $155,000 reduction from the budget, but changed the amount to $190,000 without informing the school board.

"Up until 6 p.m. this evening, [the Board of Education] was under the impression that the council was going to consider a $155,000 cut for the high school," Cleary said.

"The Board of Education was originally locked in to a $135,000 limit," he said, adding that the board agreed to a $155,000 cut.

"Now I find that at about 7:35 p.m. that number was stricken from the table," Cleary said. "I just think that the process for defeated budgets needs to be made known to the young people that are going to be our future.

"And that process should be something [done] in fair negotiations, and unfortunately I think that fell very short for the town of Eatontown," he said.

Schiels explained that Cleary's displeasure with the council was the result of a misunderstanding.

Cleary was in contact with Eatontown Mayor Gerald Tarantolo, who was acting as an intermediary between the finance committee and the Board of Education, Schiels explained.

During the council meeting, Tarantolo said that he hoped that the regional school district's budget would be cut by $155,000.

The $155,000 cut was suggested to the finance committee by Tarantolo and was rejected, according to Schiels, who said the finance committee has the final say on the budget reduction and voted in favor of the $190,000 cut, Schiels said.

The major cuts in the budget include a $55,000 reduction in teachers' salaries and a $10,000 cut in workers' compensation, according to Schiels.