By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
The Lawrence Township Board of Education will meet Monday night to take action on the school district’s preliminary 2012-13 budget, clearing the way for it to be submitted to the Mercer County Executive Superintendent of Schools.
The special meeting, set for 7 p.m., will be held in the Lawrence High School Library. There is a March 5 deadline to submit the preliminary budget to the county executive superintendent of schools for review.
Once the budget receives county approval, a public hearing will be held on it. Then, it will be presented to the voters at the annual school board election and budget vote April 17. Voters will be asked to approve the tax levy to support the budget.
The proposed 2012-13 current expense budget is $62.8 million, which represents a 2-percent increase over the 2011-12 budget of $61.4 million, according to Thomas Eldridge, the school district’s business administrator.
Mr. Eldridge said the proposed budget carries a 3- to 4-cent property tax rate increase from $2.33 per $100 of assessed value to $2.36 or $2.37. The owner of a house assessed at the township average of $161,000 would see an annual increase of $48 to $64 in the tax bill.
The tax rate may change, depending on the amount of state aid received by the school district. That figure likely will be released by the end of this week, Mr. Eldridge said. It is assumed that state aid will remain flat at $2.3 million.

