School budget approved with 1.9% tax levy increase
Average homeowner will see $25 school tax increase
The board of education unanimously approved its budget for the 2013-2014 school year at its March 20 meeting. The spending plan bears a 1.9-percent tax levy increase.
The total budget amount is $80,500,004, according to district business administrator Geoffrey Hastings. The district operating budget is $67,559,592, while the remainder of the spending plan consists of grant funding and debt service.
State aid pays for $55,360,170 of the budget, while property taxpayers contribute $6,378,062. The district is applying its entire surplus — $5,624,516 — to this year’s budget, Hastings said.
Grant funding accounts for $11,507,876, while debt service this year is $1,432,536, district business administrator Geoffrey Hastings said.
Last year, the tax levy increase was 0.6 percent. This year’s increase, 1.9 percent, falls just below the state-imposed two-percent tax levy cap.
State aid increased by $164,740 this year, according to data provided by district communications officer Christina Coloma.
The school tax rate this year is 1.48, according to a presentation from Hastings at the March 21 board of education meeting.
The average home in Asbury Park is worth $84,000, Hastings said, so the average taxpayer will contribute $1,327 in school taxes this year. This amounts to a $25 increase over last year’s average contribution of $1,302.
BUDGET BREAKDOWN
Hastings made a presentation detailing some aspects of the 2013-2014 spending plan.
The budget is comprised of three funds — operating budget, grants and entitlements, and repayment of debt.
The $11,507,876 dedicated to grants and entitlements is used to record programs which are funded solely by state and federal grant moneys, such as pre-school education and No Child Left Behind initiatives, he said.
Some goals in this year’s budget include continued updates to district technology, ensuring adequate staffing to maintain optimum class size, complying with state mandates for core content standards, special education and teacher or principal evaluations, continued investment in facilities, and minimized tax impact, Hastings said.
Some elementary school curriculum expenditures paid for by this budget include new research-based mathematics textbooks in the elementary schools; revisions of kindergarten-to-fourth-grade English and math curriculum based on adoption of model curriculum and common core standards; 60 new laptops at Bradley Elementary School and 30 new laptops at Thurgood Marshall School; and extended-day academic and enrichment programs.
Middle school curriculum initiatives include a new research-based mathematics program, revisions to English and math curricula based on adoption of common core standards, special area elective course writing and grade-five science and social studies textbook adoption.
Curriculum initiatives at the high school include revisions to English, math, science, history and physical education curriculum base on adoption of common core standards; course creations in the visual and performing arts, business, home economics and English as a learned language departments; iPad rollout for English and language arts, as well as mounted projectors in all classrooms.
The district will also undertake some technology initiatives included in the new budget. This includes continued classroom upgrades with interactive whiteboards; purchase of additional laptop carts at the elementary level; continued growth of district wireless accessibility; increase in Internet bandwidth; ongoing upgrades to network infrastructure, wiring and switches; and iPad carts for use in language arts classes at the high school.
The budget also accounts for some improvements to district facilities, including improvements to the high school auditorium’s stage lighting and rigging; a partial roof replacement at the high school; renovations of the bathrooms at the middle school; installation of dark fiber between buildings for improved Internet connectivity; beautification of district grounds; improved outdoor lighting for the high school and middle school; upgrade of district camera systems; and continued replacement of interior doors at the high school and middle school.
The next board of education meeting is tonight, April 10, at 7 p.m. at Bradley Elementary School on Third Avenue.
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[Pictured above at a prior meeting: Superintendent Denise Lowe, board attorney Michael Gross, board president Angela Ahbez-Anderson, board vice president Geneva Smallwood and board member Gregory Hopson.]
