cuts that will take some
money from several areas
Freehold council expected
to reduce school budget
Superintendent accepts
cuts that will take some
money from several areas
By clare MARie celano
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — Borough Council members were expected to recommend cuts to the Board of Education’s 2003-04 budget on Monday that would bring a projected 9-cent increase in the local school tax rate down to just over an 8-cent increase.
The school board’s proposed $13.4 million spending plan for the coming school year was defeated by six votes in the April 15 election. That sent the budget to the council for an in-depth review.
The council will recommend cuts totaling $60,000 from the budget and ask the school board to apply an additional $10,000 to the budget from the district’s surplus account. The net effect will be a $70,000 reduction in the amount of taxes to be collected from borough property owners.
The 2003-04 budget initially totaled $13,405,241. The budget cuts will bring the figure to $13,345,241, according to Anthony Tonzini, the school district’s business administrator. The proposed tax levy in the defeated budget was $5,256,208. With the cuts, the board will now collect $5,186,208 from borough taxpayers to support the budget.
And, instead of seeing the K-8 school tax rate rise from $1.09 to $1.18 per $100 of assessed valuation, the tax rate will rise from $1.09 to $1.17 per $100. The owner of a home assessed at $150,000 will pay about $120 more in school taxes in the coming year.
Superintendent of Schools Janet Kalafat told the News Transcript that she and Bellina went over the school budget very carefully before the administrator presented it to Mayor Michael Wilson.
"These cuts do not affect any major programs," Kalafat said. "We have to pull in and be careful of our spending. We have to make sure that the cuts do not get rid of any one program. These cuts are spread out over [several] different accounts."
Kalafat said the council’s expected recommendation includes a cut of $10,000 from general administration; a cut of $30,000 in general supplies [regular programs], which includes software and technology; a cut of $10,000 in professional services [regular services], which includes staff in-service and professional development; a cut of $10,000 in operation and maintenance of the facilities [general supplies]; and $10,000 to be added to the budget from the district’s surplus account.