By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
The Princeton Board of Education on Thursday adopted an $84.24 million budget for fiscal 2014 that raises school taxes on average by a little less than $149.
During the school board meeting, Superintendent of Schools Judith A. Wilson delivered a budget presentation in which she explained that the spending plan was crafted “from the ground up” starting in December.
She said the administration presented a “balanced budget,” while at the same time “keeping our eye on our mission.” She said the budget does not eliminate instructional programs or courses. She said enrollment has grown at the high school and at John Witherspoon Middle School, particularly in the seventh grade.
”This does not have money budgeted for what we would have seen as necessary as additional, especially math and English teachers at JW for next year as well,” she said.
The budget calls for a local tax levy of $64.7 million. For a home assessed at the average of $799,600, the increase is $148.59.
Superintendent Wilson said there has been a phased employee contribution to the premiums of their health coverage, mandated by law, which has helped districts balance their budgets.
Ms. Wilson said that officials built the spending plan assuming that state aid would be flat or slightly reduced. She recalled that in 2010, the district lost more than $2 million in aid, a decision by the Christie administration to cut funding to school districts. Job and program cuts resulted, although there has been a gradual reinstatement of that money in recent years.
”But as we stand here this evening, we’re still $332,000 shy of the state aid mark in 2009-10 and, truthfully, do not expect that to be reinstated at any time,” Ms. Wilson said.
She noted, however, that Princeton gets hundreds of thousands of dollars a year donated through charitable giving.
Residents will not get to vote on the budget as they have in the past, due to a change the school board made in moving school elections from April to November. A state law says that districts that make the switch don’t have to put their budgets before voters, provided it falls with the 2-percent tax cap.
Ms. Wilson said that in Mercer County, no districts will have a budget vote in April.

