Freehold Township Board of Education Adopts $68.8M Budget

The Freehold Township Board of Education adopted a $68.8 million budget by a unanimous vote during a public hearing on the spending plan Tuesday night. The 2011-2012 budget includes a $56.7 million tax levy, which is a 2.26 percent increase over last year’s levy. According to Freehold Township Business Administrator Brian Boyle, the levy will result in a three-cent increase in the current tax rate, or an additional $30 per $100,000 of assessed property value.

There are no staff positions or service cuts in the budget, which is over $700,000 less than the 2010-2011 plan.

While the district received $4.1 million in state aid—an increase of $656,564 over the precious year, Freehold Township has yet to meet the $4.89 million in aid it received from the state for the 2009-2010 school year.

“If we got the aid we received two years ago, we wouldn’t have a tax increase,” Boyle said.

The district has reduced the amount and scope of capital improvement projects because of the reduction in aid, Boyle noted. The plan also includes reductions in administration and extracurricular activities budgets, though no activities will be cut.

The budget takes advantage of $2.4 million in surplus, which represents a four-cent savings on the tax rate, Boyle said. Freehold Township used less of its surplus than in years past because of the state’s desire for districts reduce or eliminate using surplus to balance budgets, Boyle noted.

The plan includes an additional two bus drivers, an early childhood teacher moving from half to full time, and 1.5 bilingual teaching positions mandated by the state because of an increase in Spanish-speaking students. The district will see additional revenue streams from tuition-based preschool, subscription busing, and the rental of classroom space at West Freehold Elementary School to four Freehold Borough Kindergarten classes.

Superintendent William J. Setaro noted that extra classroom space is a potential resource for the district. Freehold Township’s enrollment dropped 200 students last year and 100 students this year, according the Setaro. At the same time, districts such as Freehold Borough have seen an increase in enrollment.

“We have space and we have facilities available,” Setaro said. “If you have a district with temporary space problems, renting out those classrooms might be a good thing for us to do to maintain our facilities and help out with costs.”

Residents will have the opportunity to vote on the budget during the school election on Wednesday, April 27.