School budget passes despite tax increase

School budget passes
despite tax increase
Old Bridge school
tab for 2004-05 sports
9-cent tax rate hike
BY SUE M. MORGAN
Staff Writer

OLD BRIDGE — School taxes will increase an average of $129 for residents, with voters’ approval Tuesday, of a $114.5 million school budget for 2004-05.

With just 2,818 of the township’s more than 33,000 registered voters casting ballots, the budget squeaked by with 1,417 votes in its favor and 1,310 votes opposed, a difference of 107 ballots.

Altogether, about 8.5 percent of the township’s registered voters came out to the polls Tuesday, according to R. Gregory Quirk, assistant superintendent for business.

Under the newly approved budget, which sports a 9-cent school tax hike, property owners in Old Bridge will see the school tax rate increase from $2.17 to $2.26 per $100 of assessed valuation. As a result, school taxes will increase from $3,119 to $3,247 for the owner of a home assessed at the township average of $144,000.

The approved budget includes a general fund of $108.3 million and calls for $70,992,282 to be raised in local property taxes, according to district documents.

The 9-cent school tax hike consists of 5 cents for the general fund and 4 cents to help pay off the $2.98 million debt service on a $66 million building referendum approved by voters in September 2001.

The budget also includes funding to hire four more teachers at Old Bridge High School, where 100 more students are expect to enroll next year. Two substance awareness coordinators will be added at the middle schools; and two registered nurses, a music teacher and five guidance counselors are in store for the elementary schools, district officials have said.

This year’s budget is the second in as many years to win approval. Last year’s $104.3 school budget, which raised taxes by 12 cents, passed by a mere 59 votes with just over 9 per­cent of registered voters casting ballots.

Superintendent of Schools Nicole Okun thanked those voters who sup­ported the budget and for agreeing to back the school district in its ef­forts to serve students from kinder­garten through high school.

"We are grateful that the budget passed, and that we will be able to provide additional programs and services to our students," Okun said.

One new program, the Rigby Lit­eracy Program, which provides comprehensive reading and writing activities to kindergarten through third-graders at all learning levels, can now be initiated at the district’s 12 elementary schools, Okun noted.

Five elementary school coun­selors, two student assistance coun­selors (SACs) and four additional high school teachers will now offi­cially be on the district payroll un­der the approved budget, the super­intendent said.

Whether those five elementary school counselors, initially hired for three years in 2001 through a fed­eral grant, would continue working for the district was uncertain until Tuesday’s election. The district now can keep the counselors, Okun pointed out.

"We will be able to maintain the services of the five elementary counselors," Okun said.

"At the middle school level, we will have two student assistance counselors, and at the high school, we will be able to provide four ad­ditional teachers for our antici­pated increased enrollment of 100 students," she said.

Current Board Vice President Barbara Rossi, who also won re-election to the board, shared Okun’s sentiments.

"I am extremely happy that this budget passed," Rossi said. "It speaks volumes for the district and their commitment in the ongoing education of our children."

Besides Rossi, incumbent Linda Ault McLaren was re-elected to a second term. Rutgers University stu­dent and Old Bridge High School graduate John Allen won his first elected term on the board.

Former board member Frank Weber fell short in his third consec­utive bid to return to the board.

To make it palatable to voters, board members cut expenses in sev­eral cost centers, or sections of the budget, including athletics instruc­tion, out-of-district tuition, educa­tional media services, plant opera­tions and food services, according to district documents.