Bordentown Regional Board of Education budget will increase taxes for Bordentown Township and City residents.
By: Eve Collins
BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP Members of the Bordentown Regional Board of Education introduced a $25 million school budget proposal that includes tax increases for most homeowners in the sending districts.
The 2004 budget increased by 3.9 percent over last year because of increased costs of employee benefits, special education and transportation, according to Superintendent John Polomano.
Bordentown Township residents will see their tax rate increase by 8 cents to $2.05 per $100 of assessed property value. Owners of a home assessed at the township average of $132,133 would pay $2,708 in school taxes, an increase of $106.
In Bordentown City, residents will see their tax rate increase by 2.6 cents to $1.99 per $100 of assessed property value. Owners of a home assessed at the city average of $101,361 would pay $2,017 in taxes this year, an increase of $26.
Residents in Fieldsboro will see their tax rate decrease 5 cents, to $1.87 per $100 of assessed property value. Owners of a home assessed at the borough average of $86,628 would pay $1,619 this year, about $44 less.
Mr. Polomano explained that the state formula for regional school districts sets tax rates for the communities it serves based on property wealth in each sending municipality and the number of students it has enrolled in the district’s schools. That is why Fieldsboro, with its lower property assessments and population, has a lower tax rate than the city and township.
"Because the township has picked up more ratables, it shoulders more of the burden," he said. "So the city and Fieldsboro do not go up at a corresponding rate."
A public hearing for the budget is scheduled for March 30 at 7 p.m. in the MacFarland Junior School library. Residents will vote on the budget in the April 20 election.
The ballot will include two additional questions, Mr. Polomano said.
Voters will have the opportunity to decide whether to continue the environmental trip the seventh-graders take each year to Stokes National Park. The three-day trip costs the district $25,000 each year, Mr. Polomano said.
If approved, the question will raise the average tax bill in the township by $2, in the city by $1.50 and in Fieldsboro by $1.25.
The second question for voters would add $107,000 to the budget for technology spending. Mr. Polomano said officials would like more computers for classrooms.
If approved, the question will raise the total tax bill in the township by $8.92, in the city by $6.69 and in Fieldsboro by $5.35.