By kathy baratta
Staff Writer
PLUMSTED — A school budget that proposed a $294 tax increase for the owner of a home assessed at the township average was defeated by voters in the April 15 school election.
The Board of Education’s $16 million budget for the 2003-04 school year which called for an 18-cent increase in the K-12 school tax rate was defeated 303 to 252.
The amount to be raised by taxation was presented at approximately $6.7 million.
The average home in Plumsted is assessed at approximately $163,000.
Plumsted school district Business Administrator James W. Edwards Jr. told the Tri-Town News the budget increase was due in great part to the continued flat state aid the district is receiving.
He said that in the past two years the district had been going without $1 million in promised state aid each year that was supposed to be commensurate with residential growth.
"As the district grew in development, the funds were also supposed to grow," he said.
Edwards said that since Gov. James McGreevey took office, "the governor didn’t agree [about supplementing growth with funding] and has kept our state aid flat."
The defeated budget was sent to the Township Committee on April 16 for review. The members of the governing body may recommend cuts in the budget, negotiate a reduction with the school board or leave the budget as it was proposed.
Edwards said the governing body has until May 19 to make any recommendations.
Mayor Ronald Dancer said he and Committeewoman Bonnie Quesnel would be meeting today with a school board subcommittee to look at where possible cuts to the proposed budget could be made.
Also in the April 15 election, school board incumbent Kathleen Sandford ran unopposed for the seat she was re-elected to with 431 votes. Sandford had been appointed in January to fill the unexpired term of Keith Buckalew.