Millstone school board adopts $40M budget for 2021-22 academic year

MILLSTONE – The Millstone Township K-8 School District Board of Education has adopted a $40.4 million budget that will fund the operation of the district during the 2021-22 school year.

The budget, which was adopted by the board on April 26, will be supported by a tax levy of $32.9 million to be paid by Millstone Township’s residential and commercial property owners (approximately 81% of the budget). Other revenue includes $1.53 million to be appropriated from the district’s surplus fund (savings).

For the 2020-21 school year, the $39.6 million budget that was adopted by the board was supported by a local tax levy of $32.7 million and the receipt of $4 million in state aid.

For the 2021-22 school year, Millstone’s state aid will be reduced by $528,714 to $3.53 million.

The school district’s state aid has decreased each year since the enactment of state legislation known as S-2 in 2018. Millstone is projected to lose a total of $2.1 million in state aid under S-2 through 2024-25, according to district administrators.

“I am thankful to our business administrator, Bernie Biesiada, and the members of our Board of Education for working diligently to create and approve a budget that is fiscally responsible while avoiding catastrophic impacts to the schools and students,” Superintendent of Schools Christopher Huss said.

“Despite a loss of nearly $1.4 million in state aid over the past four years, we remain committed to doing what is best for the students and steadfast in our mission to stay at the forefront of education.

“We are proud of our cutting-edge STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) electives, a robust curriculum, progressive character education programs, a commitment to the arts and extensive extracurricular activities. All of these are supported by the (2021-22) budget and we are hopeful we can maintain them for the foreseeable future,” the superintendent said.