LONG BRANCH – The $83.6 million school district spending plan was approved by voters at the polls last by a margin of six votes.
The passage of the budget marks the first time in five years that Long Branch voters supported the spending plan, according to Long Branch Superintendent of Schools Joseph M. Ferraina.
Voters approved the 2008-09 school budget on April 15, which calls for residents to raise a tax levy of $31.5 million. The budget passed with 455 votes in support of the plan and 449 votes against it.
“We appreciate all the people that supported the budget,” Ferraina said. “It is a good feeling to have the support.
“We are happy we don’t have to go through the process when there is a defeated budget. We worked very hard on this budget.
“A lot of people take for granted that the schools offer a lot of great services,” he said, adding, “The nice thing is that the budget is set. Now we have to work with what we have to keep all the programs and services without reducing staff.”
The budget calls for a 2.25-cent increase in the tax rate.
City taxpayers will see an increase from last year’s 58.7 cents per $100 of as- sessed property value to 60.9 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
For the average homeowner whose home is assessed at $470,000, the approved budget means an additional $107 per year in taxes, according to Ferraina.
The Long Branch School District is one of the original 28 districts in the state to be designated in 1990 as an Abbott district. The 10 school district remains one of the 31 Abbott districts today.
Abbott districts were mandated by the New Jersey Supreme Court to provide students in poorer urban school districts with “a thorough and efficient education.”
Abbott funds make up more than 50 percent of the school budget, according to Ferraina.
Also on election day, the three incumbents running unopposed for the three open seats on the board of education garnered a total of 1,785 votes.
Incumbents Violeta Peters of Wertheim Place, Joseph Sirianni of Community Place and Rose M. Widdis of Hulick Street received 600, 591, 594 votes respectively.
Sirianni has been serving on the board for 19 years, Peters for 18 years and Widdis for 12 years.
They will each continue to serve another three-year term on the nine-member board of education.