By David Kilby, Staff Writer
JAMESBURG — The Jamesburg Board of Education will present its 2011-12 budget to the Borough Council at the council’s meeting Wednesday, March 9.
At its meeting Feb. 24, the board introduced a total budget of $12,309,246 for the 2011-12 school year with a tax levy of $6,998,445, a zero percent increase from last year. The total operating budget for 2010-11 is $11,058,079.
With the tentative budget, “we’re looking at a zero percent increase this year,” said Thomas Reynolds, school business administrator.
The tax rate for the school district this year is just under three dollars per $100 of assessed value. An owner of a house in Jamesburg assessed at the average of $124,190 pays $3,663.61 in school taxes per year. The tax rate for next year would stay the same if the budget is approved.
The board will have a public hearing on the budget at its board meeting March 24, and the public will vote on the budget April 27.
State aid this year amounts to $4,460,051, which is $127,086 more than last year, Mr. Reynolds said.
”We’re pleased we did get an increase,” said Gail Verona, superintendent of schools. “The situation is different than last year. Last year, we lost $1 million out of a $12 million budget, which was devastating to our district.”
While she was thankful for the increase in state aid, she also wished the state didn’t treat large and small districts the same.
”A better approach might be to have the needs of each school district considered,” she said. “When you take money from a smaller district, it hurts the district more. If you use the same percentage in a smaller district, it has more of an impact than on a larger one.”
Jamesburg has a send-receive relation with Monroe Township High School where it sends 205 of its students. The cost to send a Jamesburg student to Monroe Township High School would rise from $14,691 to $14,985 this coming school year, if the proposed budget is passed.
”There are things happening that the send-receive districts have not encountered,” said Donald Peterson, board member, at the board meeting last week.
The situation between Monroe Township High School and Jamesburg is especially unique because the Monroe and Jamesburg school districts have to pay for a new high school in Monroe while keeping their budgets under the 2 percent cap increase.

