FRHSD Holds Public Hearing on $177M Budget

The Freehold Regional High School District Board of Education unanimously approved the 2011-2012 budget during a public hearing at Marlboro High School Monday evening. Voters will have a chance to weigh in on the spending plan at the polls on Wednesday, April 27.

The $177.58 million budget includes a $115.6 million tax levy, which is unchanged from the previous year. The district received an unanticipated boost with the release of state aid numbers. FRHSD received $46.35 million in state aid, a $1.71 million increase over last year, and will also get $1.76 million in federal education jobs funds.

According to Business Administrator Sean Boyce, all areas of the budget were reduced except instructional programs, which received an additional $4 million. The district will for sports and activities until the 2012-2013 school year, Boyce said. If the budget fails at the ballot box, however, the plan will be put into effect in September, he noted.

The school tax levy is allocated among the eight towns in the district based on a state formula that takes into account student population and the property value of the municipality. While the tax levy proposed in the 2011-2012 budget remains the same over the previous year, the valuation for each town changes from year to year based on the state’s formula.

The Monmouth County Tax Assessor’s Office provided preliminary assessed values for the eight towns in the district, from which Boyce provided figures on the property tax impact of the budget: Freehold Township’s tax rate will increase $0.93 to $40.31, which is an additional $9.30 per $100,000 of assessed value; Freehold Borough’s rate will increase $0.20 to $38.08, or an additional $2 per $100,000 of assessed value; Howell’s rate will decrease $0.41 to $38.04; Manalapan’s rate will decrease $1.18 to $42.06; Marlboro’s rate will increase $0.72 to $39.48; Colts Neck’s rate will increase $0.83 to $39.08; Englishtown’s rate will decrease $1.93 to $30.04; and Farmingdale’s rate will increase $8.60 to $36.31, or an additional $86 per $100,000 of assessed value. Boyce credited the sharp increase for Farmingdale to multiple years of reductions for the high school component of the valuation and an increase in the high school students coming from the municipality.

Manalapan resident Gloria Close questioned the district’s decision to delay the pay-to-participate plan and not include any capital project funding in the budget.

“For a budget not to have any capital projects, that worries me,” Close said. “If you did not suspend the pay-to-participate you would realize $1.7 million. You can apply that and fix the problems with some of our schools.”

Boyce said the district has looked at .

“Many of these projects are not imminent. This district has done an excellent job in allocating money in the annual budget to support the maintenance of our facilities,” Boyce said. “It’s not reasonable to believe that annual school budget can continue to support major facility projects in the foreseeable future.”

Vince Domidion, of Colts Neck, credited the district with providing successful programs within reasonable spending plans.

“To me it is the product that matters. I believe we have a successful product here. The fact that you’re able to do it while holding the tax levy flat is very responsible and it’s a very supportable budget,” Domidion said.