Voters will be asked to approve the budget in the April 18 school election.

At the same time, a separate ballot question will seek voter approval to spend $1.5 million to fund upgrades to district facilities, including additional parking areas as well as the replacement of heating controls and windows at several schools.

The 2000-01 budget, if approved, will raise the school tax rate by 4.8 cents per $100 of assessed valuation in Manalapan and by 7.5 cents per $100 in Englishtown.

Board of Education Business Administrator Joseph Passiment said the increase for Englishtown residents is due to the greater number of children coming into the district from the borough over the current year.

Passiment said if the $1.5 million question is passed, it will mean an additional 3.4-cent increase for Manalapan taxpayers and an additional 5.8-cent increase for Englishtown taxpayers.

If the budget and the separate question are both approved by voters, the local school tax rate in Manalapan will rise from $1.18 to $1.27 per $100 of assessed valuation. That means the owner of a home assessed at $200,000 will pay $2,542 in local school taxes in 2000-01, up from the current year’s tab of $2,368.

The local school tax rate in English-town will rise from $1.01 to $1.15 per $100 of assessed valuation. That means the owner of a home assessed at $100,000 will pay $1,158 in local school taxes in 2000-01, up from the current year’s tab of $1,016.

Local school taxes are one portion of a property tax bill which also includes municipal taxes, Freehold Regional High School District taxes and Monmouth County taxes.

The 1999-2000 budget totaled $43.9 million. The tax rate in Manalapan remained stable while the tax rate in Englishtown was down 1.6 cents.

Passiment said the increases in the coming year’s budget are due to negotiated salary increases, a significant increase in health-benefit costs for district employees and the additional staff needed for the increase in student enrollment.

According to Passiment, the tax levy to support the spending plan will be $25 million, with another $543,000 coming from surplus.

Passiment said the district anticipates getting a combined total of $16 million in federal and state aid to support the budget.

The K-8 school district includes Clark Mills School, Lafayette Mills School, Milford Brook School, Pine Brook School, Taylor Mills School and the Manalapan Englishtown Middle School.

The Wemrock Brook School is under construction on Millhurst Road. It is scheduled to open for the 2001-02 school year.

There will be a public hearing on the budget on March 28 at 8 p.m.