By Nick Norlen, Staff Writer
The Princeton Regional School District approved its tentative budget quietly Tuesday, with only one teacher asking for clarification about the figures.
Passed in bulk with a number of other agenda items, the total operating budget approved Tuesday amounts to $72,547,296, of which $56,965,650 will be sought from taxpayers.
The tax levy portion represents a 3.32 percent increase, marking the first time in many years that the district has come in under cap. School officials have said the budget will result in a one-cent tax rate decrease in the township and a 9.5-cent increase in the borough.
Finance Committee Chairman Joshua Leinsdorf explained the discrepancy between borough and township rates in detail Tuesday, noting that the impression that the entire impact of the increase is falling on the borough is incorrect.
Mr. Leinsdorf explained that the tax rates are determined by the Mercer County Tax Board based on the market value of real estate in each municipality — the same way county tax rates are calculated.
”The real estate values in the borough went up almost 10 percent in one year, compared to only 5.6 percent in the township,” he said.
That means the ratio of the assessed valuation rose in the borough from 32 to 32.8 percent. In an approximately $57 million budget, that .8 percent translates to approximately $470,000, or a 4.7-cent increase in the tax rate, Mr. Leinsdorf said.
Still, township taxpayers would fund the bulk of the tax levy, Mr. Leinsdorf said, noting that the approximately $1.8 million increase this year would be covered by approximately $600,000 from the borough and $1.2 million from township.
Earlier in the week, the district was able to lower its previous estimate of the tax increase, which was 3.6 percent, after learning about an unexpected increase in charter school aid from the state.
Superintendent Judy Wilson has said that this year’s budget features cuts in personnel and “little growth in any school or program budget.” The major impacts on expenses are increased pension contributions as well as energy, salary and benefits costs, she said.
Last year, the district’s $56 million tax levy budget was voted down after passing by a narrow margin in the township but losing in the borough.
Board member Rebecca Cox recommended Tuesday that the district should hold a revenue workshop to discuss potential new revenues.
Although Ms. Wilson said the district has been successful in that area, she agreed, saying there is “room for improvement.”
A public hearing and vote on adoption of the budget is scheduled for March 20, and voters will decide whether to accept the tax levy portion of the budget on April 15.
