SPOTSWOOD – In a unanimous vote, the Spotswood School District Board of Education adopted its 2018-19 school year budget and passed a resolution to submit the document to the New Jersey Department of Education.
The budget totals $31.36 million, Business Administrator Vita Marino said. The local tax levy of $17.13 million will be collected from residential and commercial property owners in Spotswood and Helmetta.
Marino said the tax levy is within the state mandated cap and there will not be a school budget question on the November general election ballot.
District administrators expect to receive $6.69 million in state aid during the upcoming school year, according to Marino. Staffing levels will remain as they are during the current school year.
Board members passed a resolution authorizing the submission of the 2018-19 school budget to the Department of Education during a meeting in the Spotswood High School Media Center on May 1.
Marino said in Spotswood, the school tax rate for 2018-19 will be $1.85 per $100 of assessed valuation. The average home in Spotswood is assessed at $254,916. During the upcoming school year, the owner of a home assessed at the borough average will pay $4,716 in school taxes.
Marino said in Helmetta, the school tax rate for 2018-19 will be $1.83 per $100 of assessed valuation. The average home in Helmetta is assessed at $205,632. During the upcoming school year, the owner of a home assessed at the borough average will pay $3,762 in school taxes.
The amount of taxes a property owner pays is determined in part by the assessed value of his home and property. School taxes are one item on a property owner’s tax bill. A property owner also pays municipal taxes and Middlesex County taxes.
In other school district news, Spotswood High School Principal Thomas Calder will retire effective June 30, according to Superintendent of Schools Graham Peabody. The board appointed Dale Rubino as the new principal, effective July 1. The position has a salary of $127,500, according to the meeting’s agenda.
Contact Vashti Harris at vharris@newspapermediagroup.com.
