{"id":8729,"date":"2023-03-09T02:01:59","date_gmt":"2023-03-09T07:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/?p=8729"},"modified":"2023-03-09T05:03:12","modified_gmt":"2023-03-09T10:03:12","slug":"property-value-increases-drove-apocalyptic-14-4m-funding-cut-to-t-r-schools-officials-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/2023\/03\/property-value-increases-drove-apocalyptic-14-4m-funding-cut-to-t-r-schools-officials-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Property Value Increases Drove ‘Apocalyptic’ $14.4M Funding Cut to T.R. Schools, Officials Say"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"School<\/a>

School bus. (File Photo\/ JohnPickenPhoto\/ Flickr)<\/p><\/div>\n

Toms River Regional schools superintendent Michael Citta said he could \u201cscare the Dickens\u201d out of residents by listing the potential consequences of the state\u2019s proposed $14.4 million cut<\/a> in funding for the district, but instead is hoping to work with state officials to convince them of the reality of what the cut would mean.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can imagine a school district that has no extras, no frills, no additives, no preservatives \u2013 and you could speculate on all those types of things,\u201d he said at a meeting of the Board of Education\u2019s finance committee Wednesday night. \u201cBut we will not be doing that in this budget process. We will not cut programs for kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

School officials are still processing the state\u2019s proposed funding cut. Business Administrator William Doering said the state\u2019s formula now indicates residents of the towns making up the regional school district pay too little in property taxes to support their school system. As funding decreased, the formula found that Toms River residents are underpaying by $31 million \u2013 a number that is \u201cuntenable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even if the district were to increase property taxes by the maximum allowed by law \u2013 2 percent \u2013 it would take a staggering 19 years to reach what the state considers adequate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe driver behind it was really the increase in the equalized valuations for the aggregate of the four towns,\u201d Doering explained.<\/p>\n

While the income of local residents decreased over the last year, the state calculated that property wealth increased by 20 percent in a single year, compared with 11.1 percent for the average New Jersey municipality. The value of property is one of the figures utilized in the state\u2019s formula to calculate how much residents should, theoretically, be able to afford to support their schools. State funding is then cut as that gulf widens.<\/p>\n

\"Toms<\/a>

Toms River High School South Indians Sign. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThere isn\u2019t any fat left to trim,\u201d said Citta, speaking of a district that has eliminated positions measured in triple digits over the last five years, while another 90 jobs, approximately, are being funded through federal pandemic-era grants that will eventually expire.<\/p>\n

Even if the Board of Education wanted to raise taxes by asking residents to exceed the 2 percent cap in a referendum, it cannot do so, said Doering. Referendum votes cannot be utilized to fund operating budgets \u2013 only capital projects and long-term expansions and upgrades.<\/p>\n

A part of the district\u2019s strategy to counter the funding cut from Trenton may come down to an argument that states the district would simply not be able to afford to provide students with a \u201cthorough and efficient\u201d education, as guaranteed by the state constitution. Citta plainly stated as much, and rumblings from officials outside of the school district have pointed to legal action that could take place in the absence of funding being restored.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re talking about a number of options, but quite frankly, we\u2019re running out of options,\u201d said Mayor Maurice \u201cMo\u201d Hill.<\/p>\n

Hill has no authority over the school budget \u2013 the district and municipal governments cannot commingle money between different entities \u2013 but fumed over the cuts at a township council meeting Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s rewarding Democratic communities in Essex County by punishing Republican communities in Ocean County,\u201d said Hill, of the state\u2019s proposed school funding plan. \u201cIt\u2019s dividing the state in half. I\u2019m too old to be political correct \u2013 it\u2019s B.S.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Ocean County, 19 out of 32 school districts saw reductions in state funding despite the county being the fastest-growing in the state. Citta said Toms River Regional boasted the third-lowest per-pupil spending rate of any New Jersey district with 3,500 or more students.<\/p>\n

\u201cToms River taxes less because we spend less,\u201d he said, noting that the two districts that spent less than Toms River \u2013 Edison and Nutley \u2013 both received increases in state funding under Gov. Phil Murphy\u2019s proposed budget this year. With that, Toms River is expected to take the top spot in the list of the most efficient districts statewide.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t help but think they\u2019re trying to bankrupt our schools,\u201d said Councilman Matthew Lotano. \u201cYou can\u2019t help but to feel like our kids are being used as political pawns.\u201d<\/p>\n

The outcry from officials has caused some in the state legislature to take notice. Citta said he exchanged e-mails with Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth), chairman of the Senate Education Committee, and while no figures were discussed, the gravity of the issue seemed to have been understood.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if there\u2019s anything else, more that can be said tonight,\u201d said Citta, at the close of the committee meeting. \u201cI ask for everybody to give us patience, to give us prayers, to give us encouragement and to stand by, because there isn\u2019t any avenue that we won\u2019t travel down to stay this course to make sure that revenue side of our budget gets corrected.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Toms River Regional schools superintendent Michael Citta said he could \u201cscare the Dickens\u201d out of residents by listing the potential consequences of the state\u2019s proposed $14.4 million cut in funding for the district, but instead is hoping to work with state officials to convince them of the reality of what the cut would mean. \u201cYou […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3960,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1080,295,11,64],"class_list":["post-8729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-toms-river-schools","tag-featured","tag-school-funding-formula","tag-toms-river-nj-news","tag-toms-river-regional-schools"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/5927466817_fcff99a6f0_k.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8729\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}