After months of back and forth and a joint meeting with the school board, the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors voted 4-3 Tuesday night to move from lump sum to categorical funding of the school system, for fiscal year 2011-2012.

Supervisors Bobby Crewe (Gloucester Point), John Northstein (Petsworth), Michelle Ressler (at-large) and Gregory Woodard (Ware) voted for the change, while supervisors Carter Borden (York), Buddy Rilee (Abingdon) and Louise Theberge (at-large) voted to keep the lump sum funding method. The meeting was held in the colonial courthouse.

After the decision was made, under matters presented by the board, Crewe said he would like to make a motion at a future meeting to offer a $400 bonus to all Gloucester County employees as of Jan. 1, 2011. "They haven’t had a raise in three years and are due one also."

One of the arguments several supervisors used in changing the school division’s funding method was because the school system had decided to use year-end savings to give all school employees (except for top school administrators) $400 bonuses in the last fiscal year.

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