By MICHAEL NUNES
Staff Writer
RED BANK — Red Bank Borough Public Schools approved of the 2016 budget that would increase taxes by $88 for a home assessed at the borough average.
“Becoming a great school district is a process. This proposed budget is a step towards that goal and our focus is the big picture. We are not living for today with these budgets. Our goal is to provide high-quality instructional programming. We did not and will not take shortcuts, and we did not use any temporary Band-Aids in this budget,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jared Rumage at the district’s budget presentation on April 26 at Red Bank Primary School.
Members of the Board of Education voted unanimously to adopt the $25.97 million 2016 budget, which is partially supported by a $16.54 million tax levy on residential and commercial properties.
The 2015 budget totaled $24.84 million and was supported in part by a $15.97 million tax levy raised from local taxpayers.
The district also received $3.05 million in state aid, of which $1.54 million goes to fund the Red Bank Charter School.
This year’s budget also carries a tax rate of 79.5 cents out of $100 of home assessment, up from 77 cents the year before.
A home assessed at the borough average of $354,497 would see a tax bill of $2,818.25, up from last year’s average of $2,729.62.
The amount does not factor in municipal or county taxes.
Rumage also told members of the board and public of the difficulties completing the budget and some of the challenges that the district faces.
“In recent years our district has faced many challenges, including but not limited to enrollment, facilities, state aid, an increase of special education students and services, loss of substantial grant monies, demands of bilingual and English Language Learners (ELL) structural compliance, financial obligations required for PARCC implementation, and also the recent attempt by a local charter school to double their enrollment,” he said.
Rumage also spoke of a lack of state funds, which he says greatly impacted the budget. He stated during the presentation that the district had been short-funded by the state for approximately $2 million over the past five years according to the state’s funding formula.
Members on the dais also commented on the lack of funding from the state.
“Once again our district has been underfunded and this has been highlighted in the last few years. This budget has been shorted $538,000,” said Suzanne Viscomi, chair of the board finance committee. “If you walk into the state Senate or Assembly sessions, you hear of different priorities such as pensions or Atlantic City, and if not those, then there is always some excuse why not to address this underfunding situation. If we were fully funded, we would be closer to the 2 percent cap.”
Her remarks were mirrored by fellow board member Michael Ballard.
“We do not get our full state funding. The budget then has to make up that shortfall. What is happening in effect is Red Bank residents, and all districts that have been underfunded, are being double taxed for their education costs,” he said.
Contact Michael Nunes at mnunes@gmnews.com.
