BY MICHELLE ROSENBERG
Staff Writer
The Matawan-Aberdeen Regional Board of Education approved the proposed $56.8 million 2005-06 school budget last week.
The budget’s local tax levy is $43 million, which would raise taxes 17 cents per $100 assessed property value for Aberdeen residents and 8.7 cents for Matawan residents, Business Administrator Laura Venter said.
Matawan resident Diana Noble commended the board for doing a great job putting together the budget and said that the tax increases were very modest.
If voters approve the budget, the tax increase for an Aberdeen home valued at $150,000 will be $103.37, and $72.15 for a home of the same value in Matawan.
The board handed out packets of information breaking down the budget and what is included in it, as well as an explanation of what happens if it passes or fails.
Should the budget pass, it is fixed, and all the programs in it will be implemented.
Some of the items the board budgeted for are an increase in the pre-kindergarten sessions and a pre-k program in the Cliffwood Avenue and Ravine Drive schools, more teachers at the high school and another guidance counselor at the middle school.
School Superintendent Bruce Quinn said he was pleased with the addition of golf and bowling as extracurricular programs at the high school, which he said are good for students who don’t participate in the more traditional school sports, but would still like the opportunity to connect with the school. The district is also pleased with a new dance program, he said.
The budget also includes new teachers for many of the elementary schools that are going through reorganization. The Lloyd Road School has an increased amount of teachers because it will be the only school in the district that houses fourth- and fifth-graders.
The district also plans to change the elementary language arts/reading program in order to bring it more up-to-date.
If voters defeat the budget, it will go to the Aberdeen and Matawan councils, which would set the new school tax rate. The school district must then make cuts to financially meet the new rate, or file an appeal to the state.
According to the packet of information the board gave out, the average amount cut in the tax levy by the governing bodies usually falls somewhere between $400,000 and $800,000, which reduces the tax rate by 2 or 3 cents.
Quinn said that on April 19, voters will be asked to vote on two questions in addition to the budget. The first will be the approval of $255,000 for general funds to be used for the purchase of new computers and technology equipments for the all the schools in the district. The second question will be the approval of $450,000 for general funds to be used for the purchase of security and lighting upgrades at numerous schools in the district.