FREEHOLD – The Freehold Borough K-8 School District Board of Education has adopted a $27.46 million budget that will pay for the operation of the school district during the 2018-19 school year.
Following a discussion among district administrators and board members at a May 7 meeting and public hearing, the budget was adopted.
The 2018-19 budget will be supported by a tax levy of $11.83 million to be paid by the borough’s residential and commercial property owners. Other revenue includes $635,048 from the district’s surplus fund (savings).
The school district’s 2017-18 budget totaled $27.39 million and was supported by a tax levy of $11.59 million. The average home in Freehold Borough was assessed at $252,477 and the school tax rate was $1.14 per $100 of assessed valuation. The owner of that home paid $2,877 in K-8 school taxes.
For 2018-19, the school tax rate is projected to decrease to $1.12 and the average home assessment is estimated at $255,415. The owner of that home is expected to pay $2,860, according to district administrators, a decrease of $17.
Individuals pay more or less in taxes depending on the assessed value of their home and/or property. School taxes are one component of a property owner’s tax bill, which also includes Monmouth County taxes, Freehold Regional High School District taxes and Freehold Borough municipal taxes.
Administrators said $11.33 million in state aid will support the $27.46 million budget for 2018-19. The 2017-18 budget was supported by $10.8 million in state aid.
Although the amount of state aid has increased by $530,000 for the upcoming school year, the state aid being delivered from Trenton is a source of concern to district administrators. They said $9.1 million the district expects to receive as equalization aid for 2018-19 is $12.2 million less than what Freehold Borough is owed under the School Funding Reform Act of 2008.
“The district and the board have done due diligence and passed a budget that is in balance with our revenues,” Superintendent of Schools Rocco Tomazic said. “We remain well under adequacy due to our lack of state aid, adversely impacting our ability to deliver a thorough and efficient education to our students.
“We continue to advocate with similar underfunded districts to our legislators to address this inequity with this next year’s budget. If we receive more of the state aid we are due, we know exactly how to spend it for the benefit of our students,” Tomazic said.
