By Joanne Degnan, Staff Writer
MILLSTONE The Board of Education has crafted a $31.7 million general fund budget that requires no increase in the tax levy, meets the state’s new cap requirements, and yet would still cost taxpayers an average $562 more a year in property taxes than they pay now.
”Taxes are going up, but they’re not going up because we are raising them in this budget,” acting Schools Superintendent John Szabo said during the March 28 public hearing on the proposed 2011-2012 Millstone school budget.
The paradox is consequence of last year’s budget crisis when the Township Committee made $1.26 million in cuts to the defeated 2010-2011 budget, the school board appealed, and the state ordered $960,683 restored to the tax levy. The levy is the amount of taxes the district collects to support its operating budget.
The state’s decision meant the 2010 tax levy had to be increased from the $25.41 million set by the Township Committee to $26.37 million. However, because the state’s ruling came in September, after the local tax rate had already been struck and property tax bills mailed, the school district had to take out a loan and wait for the back taxes it was owed to be collected in 2011.
The $960,683 in 2010 taxes owed to the school district must be paid this year regardless of whether voters approve or reject the budget on April 27.
The school district’s proposed budget for 2011-2012 would keep the same state-adjusted $26.37 million tax levy, which is why the Board of Education is correct telling voters that there is no increase in the tax levy.
However, it also is correct that school tax bills would be 7 percent higher than they are now once new tax bills go out this summer. The need to collect the back taxes is responsible for about half of that increase. The remainder is because the district is maintaining the same state-adjusted levy for 2011-2012.
For example, the owner of a home assessed at the 2010 townshipwide average of $510,700 paid $7,314 in school taxes to support the $25.41 million school tax levy set by the township last year. The subsequent state ruling that increased the tax levy to $26.37 million (and that residents have yet to pay) will cost the owner of that same house $277 in back taxes, and that amount will be added to 2011 tax bills.
If voters approve keeping the school tax levy at $26.37 million for next year, the owner of that average house (now assessed at $511,000) would pay $7,599 in taxes, an increase of $285 over what they pay now. Adding the $277 in retroactive 2010 taxes to the $285 projected increase brings the annual school tax bill for the 2011-2012 school year to $7,876 a total increase of $562.
Millstone voters have rejected school budgets for seven consecutive years, but Dr. Szabo said he hoped 2011 would break this tradition because for the first time that anyone in the district can remember the tax levy is remaining flat. During a PowerPoint presentation at the March 28 school board meeting, he emphasized the educational improvements schoolchildren will see if the $26.37 million levy passes.
The district will be able to reduce class sizes by hiring one primary school teacher and one elementary school teacher; restore the art curriculum at the primary school by adding an art teacher; and hire a guidance counselor for the middle school where the ratio of students to counselors is now 550-to-1, he said.
The special services department also could be revamped with the hiring of a new director (the supervisor position would be eliminated) to help the district avoid costly lawsuits over non-compliance with the individual education plans (IEPs) of classified students. A director, who would have more training, expertise and a principal’s certification, could also help prevent “over-classification” of students.
Dr. Szabo noted that 19 percent of Millstone’s students are now classified for special education services, a rate that exceeds the 14 percent state average and the Upper Freehold Regional School District’s 12 percent classification rate.
The budget also implements a number of cost-savings measures, including sharing the services of UFRSD’s assistant superintendent for curriculum, Stephen Cochrane, so that Millstone will no longer need its own curriculum director. Instead of paying a Millstone curriculum director $152,000 a year, the district will pay $42,000 to UFRSD, which represents 30 percent of Mr. Cochrane’s salary.
Millstone last month rejected UFRSD’s offer to share the services of its superintendent, Richard Fitzpatrick, and is planning to hire its own superintendent.
North Robbins Road resident Neil Schloss, who is running for school board, asked whether Millstone intends to outsource its bus routes to private contractors in September. UFRSD employees currently do the Millstone routes under a shared services agreement, but will not next year because that district is selling its bus fleet and outsourcing its routes to private contractors to save money.
School Business Administrator Bernie Biesiada said Millstone has canceled plans to put the Millstone bus routes out to bid on April 12 and is instead joining UFRSD in requesting a joint outsourcing proposal for the two districts.
”We were both at the point where we could move quickly with a joint bid and actually modify that bid to get individual route prices as well as a bid for taking over the whole operation,” Mr. Biesiada said.
The transportation bids will be back by May 10, Mr. Biesiada said.
Board President Kevin McGovern told Mr. Schloss a decision on whether to outsource Millstone bus routes, or bring them back in-house, would be made after the private bus companies’ bids are reviewed.
”The idea was to determine what outsourcing would be in terms of savings so we could compare the respective costs and benefits,” Mr. McGovern said.
The board unanimously adopted the school budget at the conclusion of the public hearing and the spending plan now goes to voters.
Polls are open from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, April 27. In addition to the budget, there are four open Board of Education seats on the ballot. Three of those seats are for three-year terms and one seat is for a one-year unexpired term.
Mr. McGovern is facing Mr. Schloss for the one-year unexpired term in the only contested race.
Two incumbents, Salvatore Casale and John Saxton, are running unopposed for re-election to two of the full-term seats. No one has filed to run for the third full-term seat, now held by Holly Deitz, who has decided not to seek re-election. A write-in candidate could win that open seat on Election Day.

