HOPEWELL VALLEY: Proposed budget would increase taxes in all three towns

By John Tredrea, Special Writer
   A tentative Hopewell Valley Regional School District budget of $75,927,044 for 2012-13 that, if adopted in its present form, would bring 6-cent tax rate increases for both Hopewell Township and Hopewell Borough and a 2-cent increase for Pennington was introduced by the school board Monday night.
   The board is scheduled to have a final vote on adoption at a hearing March 26. Under state law, that hearing will be the board’s last chance to change the budget.
   The school district election will be held in the district April 17. Some districts in the state have opted to switch their elections to November as allowed by a new state law. The Valley’s school board decided several weeks ago to stay with April.
   The tentative budget would bring a 1.8 percent increase in the district’s school tax levy. A state cap law allows a maximum increase of 2 percent.
   No waivers were used to keep the increase to 1.8 percent, Superintendent Thomas Smith said Monday night.
   The state allows cap waivers for increased enrollment — the Valley’s enrollment continues to decline — and some health care and pension costs.
   The tentative budget calls for a school tax rate of $1.41 per $100 of assessed property value in Hopewell Township. For a township home assessed at $500,000, that would bring a 2012-13 school tax bill of $7,050, up $255 from last year, when the tax rate was $1.35.
   The tentative budget would bring a Hopewell Borough tax rate of $1.29 per $100 of assessed property value. For a home in that borough assessed at $500,000, this would mean a 2012-13 school tax bill of $6,450, up $300 from last year, when the tax rate was $1.23.
   Pennington’s tax rate would be $1.38 if the budget were adopted in its present form. A home in that borough assessed at $500,000 would get a school tax bill of $6,900 for 2012-13, $100 more than last year, when the rate was 2 cents lower.
   The differing tax impacts in the school district’s three towns result from use of a state-mandated equalization formula, which takes into account the difference between market value and assessed value of each property in the towns.
   Voting in favor of the tentative budget Monday night were board President Lisa Wolff, board Vice President Leigh Ann Petersen, Laura Desai, Adam Sawicki and Roy Dollard, all of Hopewell Township, and Gordon Lewis, of Hopewell Borough.
   Jim Wulf, Ms. Wulf’s husband, and Stephen Keene, both of Hopewell Township, voted no, both citing the budget including $100,000 for a new baseball field. Hopewell Township is contributing $500,000 for that field (see separate story).
   Mr. Keene also cited the board’s recent decision to keep the Valley’s school election in April, rather than switching it to November as allowed by a new state law, as a reason for his no vote. He noted switching the election to November would have saved the district an estimated $30,000 annually.
   Board member Dan O’Connor of Pennington was absent Monday night.
   Before the board voted on the budget, Dr. Smith discussed the proposed spending plan. He said the Valley’s student population, which is now 3,850 students, continues to decline at the rate of about 50 students annually.
   There are only 203 kindergartners in the district. There are 302 fifth-graders, 323 eighth-graders and 296 12th-graders.
   The district has eight buildings — four elementary schools, a middle school, a high school and an administrative headquarters in Pennington. The district transports 3,400 of its 3,850 students daily.
   There are 387 teachers, 221 other staff members and 25 administrators.
   State aid is going up this year for Hopewell Valley, Dr. Smith said. The district will receive $2,490,613 in state aid for 2012-13, a 24 percent jump over last year’s aid of $1,998,557.
   ”Last year, we had the biggest state aid cut of any district in Mercer County,” Dr. Smith said. “This year, we’ll have the biggest increase in the county.”
   Under the tentative budget introduced by the board, local property taxes pay 95.3 percent of the costs, down from 96.7 percent last year. State aid covers 3.4 percent of the tentative budget, up from 1.6 percent last year.
   Miscellaneous sources cover 1.3 percent of the tentative budget, down slightly from last year’s 1.5 percent.