BY PATRICIA A. MILLER
Staff Writer
METUCHEN — Just months after they approved a $28.7 million building referendum, voters will decide whether to approve a school budget that calls for a 12-cent increase in the school tax rate.
Voters will also decide who will fill the three available, three-year seats on the Board of Education.
Five people, including incumbent board President Ronald Grayzel, are vying for the seats, said board secretary Michael Harvier.
Grayzel is seeking his third term on the board. Incumbents Timothy Brosnan and Al Barron decided not to run for additional terms, Harvier said.
The four newcomers are George Trapp, Eileen Duffy, Justin Manley and Evelyn Grant, he said.
The hike in the school tax rate is due to increased costs for salaries, health insurance and special education, Harvier said.
Health-care costs with Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield of New Jersey, the district’s carrier, rose 15 percent since last year, he said.
“That’s the standard, from what I understand,” Harvier said.
Only nontenured school employees pay for part of their coverage in Horizon’s preferred provider organization (PPO) plan. Tenured employees pay nothing, other than standard co-payments, Harvier said.
The school tax rate will rise from $2.33 to $2.45 for each $100 of assessed valuation, according to the proposed budget.
That translates into an additional $227 per year in school taxes for a home assessed at the borough average of $186,600, school officials said.
The total school tax bill for the average home would rise from $4,346 to $4,573.
Total appropriations stand at $25,606,825, up $1,594,486 from last year.
The amount to be raised by taxation is $23,473,765, up $1,163,300.
State to the district will remain flat at $1,492,172, the same as last year.
Residents here overwhelmingly approved a bond referendum in December by a 3-to-1 margin. The referendum passed in all 13 voting districts.
The $28.7 million project cost will be offset by a 40 percent, or $11.5 million reimbursement from the state.