By dave benjamin
Staff Writer
The April 15 vote that approved the 2003-04 school year budget for the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District has been certified and accepted.
"There were 32 yes and 93 no [votes] in Englishtown," said Bertha Sumick, special deputy county clerk in the Clerk of Elections office, Freehold. "For Manalapan, I have 1,044 yes and 978 no [votes]."
Sumick added the figures together and indicated that the total votes for the budget came to 1,076 yes votes and 1,071 no votes, verifying that the difference was five votes as reported in the April 23 News Transcript.
Eight provisional votes — all approving the budget — were part of the Manalapan result. Provisional votes are cast when a voter moves within a community but has not registered in a new voting district.
At first count on April 15 the returns appeared to defeat the budget, with Englishtown reporting 31 yes votes and 90 no votes, and Manalapan reporting 999 yes votes and 944 no votes. Those figures, added together, showed the budget failing by a count of 1,034 to 1,030, but they did not include absentee ballots or provisional votes.
On April 17, with all votes [including absentee ballots from Englishtown and Manalapan and the provisional votes from Manalapan] counted, the unofficial count showed Englishtown with a total of 32 yes votes and 93 no votes, while Manalapan voters recorded 1,044 yes votes and 978 no votes, turning the total figures to 1,076 yes votes and 1,071 no votes and passing the budget.
That result was certified by Sumick on April 22.
The budget for the 2003-04 school year totals $59,230,464. The tax levy to support the budget will be $37.3 million in Manalapan and $1.5 million in Englishtown.
According to information provided by the board, the K-8 school tax rate in Manalapan will rise from $1.469 to $1.534 per $100 of assessed valuation. That is an increase of 6.5 cents.
That means the owner of a home assessed at $150,000 would pay $2,301 in K-8 school taxes in the coming year, up from $2,203 in the current year. The owner of a home assessed at $200,000 would pay $3,068 in K-8 school taxes in the coming year, up from $2,938 in the current year. The owner of a home assessed at $300,000 would pay $4,602 in K-8 school taxes in the coming year, up from $4,407 in the current year.
In Englishtown, the budget proposed raising the K-8 tax rate from $1.427 to $1.614 per $100 of assessed valuation. That is an increase of 18.7 cents.
That means the owner of a home assessed at $100,000 would pay $1,614 in K-8 school taxes in the coming year, up from $1,427 in the current year. The owner of a home assessed at $150,000 would pay $2,421 in K-8 school taxes in the coming year, up from $2,140 in the current year. The owner of a home assessed at $200,000 would pay $3,228 in K-8 school taxes in the coming year, up from $2,854 in the current year.
Manalapan-Englishtown school taxes are one portion of a property owner’s tax bill. Other taxes include municipal government taxes, Freehold Regional High School District taxes and Monmouth County taxes, among others.