{"id":21841,"date":"2023-03-22T03:39:49","date_gmt":"2023-03-22T07:39:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/?p=21841"},"modified":"2023-03-22T03:39:49","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T07:39:49","slug":"tentative-brick-school-budget-will-increase-taxes-by-2-5m-n-j-bill-restores-some-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/2023\/03\/tentative-brick-school-budget-will-increase-taxes-by-2-5m-n-j-bill-restores-some-funding\/","title":{"rendered":"Tentative Brick School Budget Will Increase Taxes by $2.5M; N.J. Bill Restores Some Funding"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Brick<\/a>

Brick Township Board of Education\/Schools (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

The fiscal disaster facing Brick Township schools cannot be unilaterally solved by raising taxes, school officials have said repeatedly, though a tentative spending plan introduced by the Board of Education last week would raise the tax levy by about $2.5 million as the district faces a $2.54 million state funding cut.<\/p>\n

The district, like all New Jersey governmental subdivisions, is subject to a 2 percent cap on both overall expenditures as well as the tax levy \u2013 the dollar amount charged to residents through property taxes. Under the tentative budget \u2013 which is subject to change significantly between introduction and adoption, the district\u2019s property tax levy would rise by 1.77 percent from $117,973,136 this school year to $120,466,734 for the upcoming 2023-24 school year.<\/p>\n

Overall, the budget will decrease from $163,322,838 to $161,141,287. The decrease is primarily linked to the loss of state funding as well as the lack of \u201cone-shot\u201d funding sources from federal pandemic relief funding. The district cannot legally increase taxes beyond the cap, regardless of how much funding is cut from outside sources. Superintendent Thomas Farrell said the tax levy was set at a 1.77 percent increase due to the retirement of some debt service.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you retire some debt service, your tax levy may actually be less,\u201d he said, notwithstanding the total operating budget.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith every cut made, we\u2019re doing our best to minimize the impact on our students and our staff,\u201d Farrell told residents at the meeting. \u201cI assure you we are looking at all avenues that are in the best interests of our students.\u201d<\/p>\n

The district, even before the latest round of funding cuts was announced by Gov. Phil Murphy, warned that staff reductions could be on tap for the 2023-24 school year, though the district would try its best to avoid layoffs by eliminating positions through attrition.<\/p>\n

Some budgetary relief could be on the way, however, as state legislators are considering restoring $102 million in funding to the few districts \u2013 including 19 out of Ocean County\u2019s 31 districts \u2013 that saw funding cut rather than raised in Murphy\u2019s proposed statewide spending plan. Led by state Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth), the effort to restore some funding came after significant lobbying by school officials, including some in Gopal\u2019s legislative district, considered a major swing district in state political circles. Gopal, known for bipartisan compromise, also chairs the state Senate Education Committee.<\/p>\n

The bill restoring funding passed the upper chamber of the legislature unanimously Monday.<\/p>\n

Brick would not see all of its of funding restored, but would face a cut of $889,791 compared to the $2.54 million cut. It was not immediately clear how the pared-down cut in funding would affect the Brick district\u2019s operating budget or tax levy. A motion to restore all of the lost funding, which would have allocated $155 million, was floated by state Sen. Declan O\u2019Scanlon (R-Monmouth) but was defeated in a largely party-line vote.<\/p>\n

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Senate GOP makes motion to amend school aid bill to completely eliminate cuts to school districts, which would come at a cost of appx $155 million. Voted down by senate Dems. pic.twitter.com\/SsHHQ8BlCM<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Daniel Han (@danieljhan_) March 20, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n