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Schools Will Make Pitch For 8.75-Cent Tax Rate Increase
By Keith Hagarty
Calling it a necessary measure to "protect class size and maintain the majority of programs to serve students," the township board of education approved the introduction of the school district's 2007- 2008 budget last week, calling for an 8.75-cent tax rate increase.
The proposed $132.8 million budget is $3.11 million, or 2.4 percent, more than last year, with a general fund of $120.3 million and a tax levy of $65.19 million.
Last year, voters overwhelmingly defeated the $127 million 2006-2007 school budget by more than 1,500 votes. The budget was $8.1 million, or six percent, larger than the previous year's budget, and had called for a near 16-cent increase to the school tax rate. Following its defeat, $1.13 million in cuts were made by the township to lower the eventual tax rate increase by 2.2-cents, resulting in an overall tax rate increase of 13.8 cents.
This year's proposed 8.75-cent tax rate hike per $100 of assessed valuation means the average Jackson homeowner with a property assessed at $150,000 would see an increase of about $131 per year, or nearly $11 per month.
Proposing a tax hike is never easy, but the administration and board had to do the best it could to provide a strong educational experience in the face of stringent limitations handed down from the state, according to board President Linda Lackay.
"This year's school budget aims to maintain reasonable class size and include valuable programs and services, while adhering to the statemandated four percent cap," she said, pointing to some of the rising costs affecting Jackson's schools.
The budget meets all state guidelines and requirements, including the new state requirement to cap municipal and school budget tax levies at four percent.
"Just like other districts throughout the state, we have been significantly impacted by the four percent cap requirement," said Superintendent of Schools Thomas Gialanella. "In the face of rising utility and fuel costs, increases to out-of-district tuition and the other increases outside of our control, it certainly creates a hardship."
"This coming school year, another grade level will be entering Jackson Liberty High School, which will only add to the operating expenditures of the new facility," said Lackay. "Like other schools, the Jackson school district must also contend with rising energy costs to operate our facilities and transport our students."
Lackay criticized the state's current school funding formula, calling it inequitable to growing school districts like Jackson.
"While any increase in school funding received from the state is welcome, the state has yet to recognize that public school funding has not been based on the actual number of students currently enrolled in the district for the past five years," she said. "This means that school districts like Jackson who have experienced drastic growth in their student population are still receiving the same amount of state aid as they were five years ago based on a much lower number of pupils."
The budget will go to voters on April 17, with polls in Jackson open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The board and administration will continue to review the proposed budget over the coming weeks, with a public hearing scheduled for their next meeting on Tuesday, March 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the fine arts auditorium at Jackson Memorial High School.
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