BY MELISSA CIFELLI
Staff Writer
South Brunswick school officials say the district’s budget will likely rise due to a decrease in the township’s tax ratable base.
The South Brunswick Board of Education met Tuesday to begin finalizing the 2005-06 school budget.
Officials said a decrease in township ratables by 2.2 percent — the first such instance in several years — is due largely to tax appeals by corporations, and may contribute to an estimated 20.8-cent overall increase to the tax levy.
This projection of 20.8-cent increase includes a 18.9-cent increase to the general fund and a 1.9-cent increase to debt service. Board members stressed that the 20.8-cent increase was a preliminary figure that was likely to be reduced.
According to Assistant Superintendent and Board Secretary Jeffrey Scott, if ratables had not decreased, the increase to the tax levy would have been 13.2 cents.
Board members said, however, that they were confident that more money can be shaved from the budget by the next meeting scheduled for March 1, reducing the tax increase.
Officials said the decrease in tax ratables, combined with the state’s new budgetary constraints under school budget cap law S-1701, exacerbates the situation. Among the law’s provisions, the amount of surplus districts were allowed to carry was reduced from 6 to 3 percent in 2004-05, and 2 percent in 2005-06.
According to Schools Superintendent Gary Mc-Cartney, the effects of S-1701, combined with the lull in state aid increases, shifts the tax burden to residents.
“It’s a difficult pill to swallow,” McCartney said
McCartney said the board is looking at every possible avenue to keep the budget lean, including phasing projects.
McCartney said he does not believe any programs will be cut, but at the same time no new programs are being added.
The driving force behind this year’s budget, McCartney said, has become student enrollment.
In the last 10 years, according to McCartney, enrollment has grown by 57 percent, forcing the district to create a new high school, enlarge Crossroads North Middle School, and create additions to Brooks Crossing Elementary School. The high budget, according to McCartney, is to accommodate these uncontrollable costs.
“That’s the price of growth,” McCartney said.
McCartney said he recently sent a letter to the Township Council requesting a moratorium on residential growth.
Residential growth, McCartney said, is threatening the ability of South Brunswick to maintain a quality and affordable public school system.
“We have the obligation to educate all youngsters,” McCartney said. “But we don’t get to pick how many come.”
The board, which is waiting for budget announcements from the governor and state aid numbers, will continue to finalize the budget in the following weeks.