Tax rate expected to stay at 74.3 cents per $100 of assessed property value.
By: Vanessa S. Holt
NORTH HANOVER School taxes will remain the same in the North Hanover School District this year if voters approve its $19 million school budget.
The district’s tax rate of 74.3 cents per $100 of assessed property value translates to a tax bill of $1,285 for the owner an average-assessed $173,000 house, the same as last year.
Only $1.6 million of the total budget amount is raised by school taxes because the district typically receives over $10 million in state aid and $6 million in federal impact aid, said Superintendent Richard Carson.
The district, which includes five elementary schools and soon will be adding an Upper Elementary School this fall, receives impact aid because its enrollment includes children who live on nearby McGuire Air Force Base. Enrollment is currently at about 1,285 students, said Dr. Carson.
Although the total amount of the budget has gone up by about $408,000 since last year due to yearly increases in salaries, health benefits and utility costs, the school saved money by eliminating two positions and consolidating some classes in the new school. Two of the district’s 114 teaching positions will be cut, but additional savings also will be seen in the new school building’s heating system.
"It’s a geothermal heating system," said Dr. Carson. "It eliminates fuel costs by not burning gas or oil."
Geothermal heating taps into the earth’s natural heat energy and transfers it to the building by a series of pipes and tubes. The new building was able to be constructed with this system in place, but the cost of retrofitting the older buildings would be prohibitive, he said.
The budget will go before voters on April 18.

