JACKSON – The Jackson School District Board of Education has introduced a $152.6 million budget to fund the operation of the school district during the 2020-21 academic year.
The budget was introduced at the board’s March 18 meeting. A public hearing on the budget has been tentatively scheduled for April 29 and may be live-streamed to the public due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The $152.6 million budget will be supported by a tax levy of $95.79 million to be collected from Jackson’s residential and commercial property owners.
For the current 2019-20 school year, the board adopted a $153.21 million budget that resulted in larger class sizes and a reduction in positions, but not a reduction in the number of employees, according to district administrators.
State aid for the school district continues to decrease under the terms of a New Jersey law known as S-2 that was enacted in 2018. The reduction in state aid is expected to continue each year through the 2024-25 school year under S-2.
For 2018-19, Jackson received $48.77 million in state aid. For 2019-20, the district received $46.47 million in state aid. For 2020-21, the district will receive $42.99 million in state aid – a reduction of $3.48 million.
Due to the ongoing decrease in state aid, the 2020-21 school year will see a reduction in staff members, including administrative positions, budget cuts in all departments and the elimination of all capital improvement projects, with the exception of an energy savings program, according to district administrators.
Administrators were hoping to fund $1.4 million for capital improvement projects including paving the student access road at Jackson Memorial High School, replacing the Jackson Memorial gym floor and bleachers, and replacing the Jackson Memorial tennis courts, but that work will not occur.
The school district’s 2019-20 budget totaled $153.21 million and Jackson’s residential and commercial property owners paid $94.16 million in taxes to support the budget.
For 2020-21, the total budget is down about $610,000, but the tax levy is up about $1.63 million.
In 2019-20, Jackson’s school tax rate was $1.37 per $100 of assessed valuation. The owner of a home assessed at $250,000 paid about $3,425 in school taxes, the owner of a home assessed at $325,000 paid about $4,452 and the owner of a home assessed at $400,000 paid about $5,480.
In 2020-21, Jackson’s school tax rate is projected to be $1.39 per $100 of assessed valuation, which is an increase of .0171 from the previous year’s budget. The owner of a home assessed at $250,000 will pay about $3,500 in school taxes, the owner of a home assessed at $325,000 will pay about $4,520 and the owner of a home assessed at $400,000 will pay about $5,600.
The average home in Jackson is assessed at $328,520. The owner of a home assessed at that amount will pay $4,599 in school taxes during the upcoming year. The cost to the average homeowner will be about $56 more per year in school taxes based on the average home assessment as provided by the tax assessor’s office.
School taxes are one item on a property owner’s total tax bill, which also includes Jackson municipal taxes and Ocean County taxes.
Following the introduction of the school budget, the members of the Jackson Township Council voted to grant the school district $1 million in surplus funds from municipal coffers.
District administrators said the $1 million in funding to be provided by the township will allow the school district to avoid having larger class sizes, retain freshman sports, and retain before-school and after-school enrichment programs and interventionists who serve educationally at-risk students in all grades.
