By John Patten, Managing Editor
Working to meet deadlines, board holds off discussion until March 31
Without any discussion or review, the Manville Board of Education approved a preliminary $19 million budget Tuesday.
Prepared to meet the state-set March 20 deadline for submitting a budget to the county for review — following the March 11 release of state aid figures — the budget includes an estimated tax increase of about $96 for the owner of the average Manville property.
But, Business Secretary Richard Reilly stressed the board has not discussed the budget, and changes may be made at the March 31 public hearing.
”This is all preliminary — it could be changed by the board,” he said. “That is not a final budget — the board will look at that after the public hearing.”
The usual timeframe for budget planning begins in February, with several weeks for board members to discuss and review the budget following a presentation by Superintendent of Schools Donald Burkhardt.
But the budget can’t be completed until after the governor’s budget address, which Gov. Jon Corzine gave March 10, limiting the time school boards across the state have to vote on budgets, take public comment and file the necessary documentation with the county superintendent of schools.
Dr. Burkhardt will provide his breakdown of the budget at the public hearing.
Details of the spending plan won’t be available until then, but the big picture reveals a 1.16 percent increase in total spending, with the budget increasing from $18,799,848 to $19,019,248. The amount to be raised by local property taxes increases from $12,148,455 to $12,559,467, a difference of $411,012 or 3.38 percent.
The budget’s increase would add 3.2 cents to the district’s current $1.055 tax rate. This would add $96 to the property tax bill of the owner of a property at the borough average assessment of $300,000, from $3,165 to $3,261.
”Considering two-thirds of the budget is salaries, I think we did pretty well in keeping the increase down as low as we did,” Mr. Reilly said.
The district received a 5 percent increase in state aid for the 2009-2010 school year, adding $256,318 for a total of $5,382,686. The additional aid is based on the difference between the district’s spending and the state’s calculation of how much is needed to provide adequate education for students — a difference of $2,835,194, according to the Department of Education.

