Voters who take only a quick look at Monroe’s proposed the $87.34 million school budget could be forgiven for getting hung up on what might appear on first blush to be a rather large spending increase.
The board, after all, is asking voters to approve a 9.24 percent increase that carries a 4.8 percent tax hike.
But before voters make any snap judgments, we ask that they pause and consider this: Nearly every penny of the increase is necessary to accommodate a nearly 6 percent increase in enrollment, one of the largest in the region, if not in the state. Enrollment has grown so quickly, in fact, that the state has granted Monroe an exemption to its new 4 percent levy cap, allowing it to increase the tax levy by nearly 8 percent.
That enrollment increase along with large hikes in retirement and health benefit costs, a need to upgrade computers and to bring water and sewer to the Applegarth Middle School make it imperative that voters support this budget.
The costs of the enrollment growth includes:
A $363,873 in new instructional salaries to hire the equivalent of 21.1 new full-
time employees, most needed to help handle the approximately 300 more students expected to arrive next year. Most of the positions will address basic enrollment needs, including the expansion of existing programs that are being stressed by the growing enrollment (the high school will hire teachers for a new Italian II and Latin II classes and a music teacher for the quickly swelling band program).
A $229,000 increase in transportation costs, plus the replacement of a 54-passenger school bus and the purchase of two new buses along with the hiring of two drivers.
A $50,000 increase in sports and extracurricular activities to accommodate the increasing number of kids joining clubs and playing sports.
But it’s not just enrollment that the district needs to take care of. The district also plans to give students a technological upgrade by paying $222,610 to replace old Apple computers with new PCs in Mill Lake School. While some might view this as an extravagance, the reality is that students need up-to-date computers that are compatible with computers elsewhere in the district.
Another big-ticket item is the $390,408 set aside to bring municipal water and sewer to the Applegarth Middle School.
This is a more than sensible proposal. The school currently runs on septic and well. While its OK for residential homes to run on septic, maintaining and eventually replacing a system as big as the one needed for Applegarth School is pricey, and that’s not even taking into account what the atmosphere at the school is like when the system backs up, something nearly all septic systems do from time to time.
Overall, this budget will increase the tax rate by 8.9 cents, to $1.936 per $100 of assessed valuation. Under that rate, the owner of a house assessed at the township average of $168,100 would pay $3,254 in school taxes, a $150 increase.
That seems like a bargain to ensure that Monroe’s schools continue to provide a quality education.
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