Defeated school tab on Monday’s agenda.
By: Melissa Hayes
The Township Council plans to review the defeated school budget Monday night, but it remains unclear whether the school board will attend.
The council has scheduled a special meeting for 6 p.m. Monday and has invited the Board of Education, but as of Wednesday afternoon before the South Brunswick Post went to press Schools Superintendent Gary McCartney was not able to confirm the availability of all board members.
The council had included the budget on its agenda Tuesday night, but it was removed because board members could not attend.
Voters defeated the $119.2 million school budget April 19 by a vote of 1,477 to 1,472. Under state law, defeated budgets must be submitted to the municipal governing body, in this case the council, within 48 hours of the certification of the vote tally by the county clerk.
The district’s budget called for a 9 percent tax hike and would have increased the school tax rate by 19 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, from $2.13 to $2.32. Under that rate, the owner of a house assessed at the township average of $188,600 would pay $4,375.52 in school taxes, up $358.34 from the current school year.
The council has until May 19 to review the budget, make recommendations about spending cuts and set a new school tax levy. It has responsibility for only the $106.7 million general fund portion of the budget, which covers daily operations; the rest is covered under debt service, or money borrowed with voter approval in the past.
Once the council sets a new tax levy, the board has 15 days to either accept it and submit the new budget to the county superintendent’s office, or appeal it to the state education commissioner.
Township Council members said last week that they wanted to meet with the full school board to discuss the spending plan.
If Monday’s meeting does occur, it would take place in the main meeting room of the township municipal complex. The school board has a regular meeting scheduled for 8 p.m. at Crossroads North Middle School on Georges Road.

