Freehold Borough Schools Adopt $18M Tenative Budget

The adopted the tentative 2012-2013 school year budget at their regular meeting on Feb. 27.

The total tentative operating budget for the 2012-13 school year will be $18,002,758. The budget from the 2011-2012 school year was $17,437,971. This is a $564,787 proposed increase, including 2 percent in taxes.

The budget was adopted after given by Business Administrator Patrick DeGeorge.

According to DeGeorge, highlights from the tentative budget include: no elimination of programs, no net reduction in staff, an additional section of Grade 3 to reduce class size at that level and the ability to purchase new textbooks and tools needed to supplement the curriculum.

“This is the first time in 5 years that we have been able to purchase textbooks and related materials for students,” said DeGeorge. “This will definitely help them increase the achievement of our students.”

The majority of the money that allows for these highlights is made up of state aid and the local tax levy.

As for state aid, the district received just enough to cover the deficit originally expected. Click to read more about the preliminary budget presentation.

“Staid aid increased above expectation and kind of filled the gap we were anticipating,” said DeGeorge.

The district received $9,176,188 in state aid. “That is a 7.6 percent budget to budget increase in categorical state aid,” explains DeGeorge. “However, that increase is not as much when you factor in the loss of jobs bill funding, so the real net increase is 3.8 percent.”

As for taxes, the tentative 2012-13 local tax levy will be $8,434,346. The previous school year’s tax levy was $8,268,967, giving a $165,3799 or two-percent increase.

So, what does this mean for the taxpayers?

Property taxes are calculated by taking assessed property value, dividing it by 100 then multiplying it by the tax rate. That resulting number is equal to taxes owed. The 2012-13 tentative tax rate is .844, an increase of .019.

Therefore, if you own a home worth $200,000, you will be taxed $1,688. That number is a $38 yearly increase.

According to DeGeorge, the actual out-of-pocket numbers will be a bit lower thanks to the Business Personal Property Tax Adjustment (BPPTA).

“Every municipality gets state aid, just like schools do. It’s a pile of money that the government says the municipality is supposed to divvy up between regional schools, district schools, and their own affairs,” explained DeGeorge. “They use this money to subsidize the taxes for residents.”

According to DeGeorge’s presentation, when taxpayers get the bill, the net out-of-pocket cost will only be a 1.14 percent increase.

“It’s a great thing. The district gets its money in full, but the taxpayer isn’t bearing the whole burden,” said DeGeorge.

DeGeorge also explained that taxpayers could have seen a much higher increase.

There is a cap on property tax increases, but certain districts qualify for waivers. The Freehold Borough School District qualified for two waviers for increased enrollment and for bank cap.

“We could have raised it to 6.4 percent but, the board chose to stay within the 2 percent cap. They are always trying not to put too much of a burden on taxpayers,” said DeGeorge. “We could have used the money for great things, but we will try to hold off one more year until we get more state aid.”

The tentative budget is due to the county superintendent by Monday, March 5. The budget will be reviewed and the district will be made aware of any necessary changes.

Once approved, there will be a public meeting held on March 26 and the board will adopt it final. Then it’s submitted to the Department of Education. Once certified, the budget becomes enacted on July 1, 2012.

There is no vote on the budget because the board chose to and they stayed within the permitted budget cap.