The Freehold Regional High School District Board of Education has adopted a $206.87 million budget that will fund the operation of the district for the 2018-19 school year.
District administrators said the budget will be supported by the collection of $138.39 million in taxes from residential and commercial property owners in the district’s eight sending municipalities: Colts Neck, Englishtown, Farmingdale, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Howell, Manalapan and Marlboro.
The FRHSD’s 2017-18 budget totaled $203.6 million and was supported by a tax levy of $135.75 million, according to district administrators. The increase in the tax levy for 2018-19 amounts to $2.64 million.
The FRHSD will receive $51.56 million in state aid for 2018-19; that is the same amount the district received in 2017-18. Administrators will use $11.8 million from surplus funds (savings) as revenue in the 2018-19 budget. The 2017-18 budget used $10.5 million from surplus.
Board members adopted the budget on April 30.
Administrators provided the portion of the tax levy each sending municipality will pay in the upcoming school year, as well as relevant tax information:
• Colts Neck: $13.5 million tax levy for 2018-19, down from $13.96 million in 2017-18. The high school tax rate has decreased from 46.56 cents to 45.03 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The average home assessment is $840,000 and that individual will pay $3,782 in FRHSD taxes in 2018-19 ($146 decrease).
• Englishtown: $1 million tax levy for 2018-19, same as 2017-18. The high school tax rate has decreased from 41.5 cents to 41.24 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The average home assessment is $300,000 and that individual will pay $1,237 in FRHSD taxes ($8 decrease).
• Farmingdale: $569,765 tax levy for 2018-19, up from $541,919 in 2017-18. The high school tax rate has increased from 34.81 cents to 36.6 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The average home assessment is $300,000 and that individual will pay $1,098 in FRHSD taxes ($54 increase).
• Freehold Borough: $3.6 million tax levy for 2018-19, same as 2017-18. The high school tax rate has increased from 34.53 cents to 34.81 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The average home assessment is $255,415 and that individual will pay $889 in FRHSD taxes ($9 increase).
• Freehold Township: $28.20 million tax levy for 2018-19, down from $28.21 million in 2017-18. The high school tax rate has decreased from 45.90 cents to 45.71 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The average home assessment is $402,344 and that individual will pay $1,838 in FRHSD taxes ($55 decrease).
• Howell: $30.96 million tax levy for 2018-19, up from $28.99 million in 2017-18. The high school tax rate has increased from 43.64 cents to 46.47 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The average home assessment is $343,544 and that individual will pay $1,596 in FRHSD taxes ($145 increase).
• Manalapan: $27.57 million tax levy for 2018-19, up from $26.7 million in 2017-18; The high school tax rate has increased from 41.74 cents to 43.06 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The average home assessment is $428,076 and that individual will pay $1,842 in FRHSD taxes ($116 increase).
• Marlboro: $32.95 million tax levy for 2018-19, up from $32.73 million in 2017-18. The high school tax rate has increased from 45.63 cents to 45.89 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The average home assessment is $493,926 and that individual will pay $2,266 in FRHSD taxes ($12 increase).
Assistant Superintendent for Business Administratration Sean Boyce spoke about the district’s enrollment and staffing, saying, “We expect to see a continued modest decline in enrollment, about 1 percent. However, those numbers are subject to change depending on student acceptance into vocational programs. Additionally, we expect a slight decrease in staffing once the enrollment numbers are finalized.”
Freehold Regional High School District taxes are one item on a property owner’s tax bill. A total tax bill also includes municipal taxes, Monmouth County taxes and other assessments. The taxes an individual pays to a taxing entity depend on the assessed value of that individual’s home and property and the tax rate determined by each taxing unit.
