STOCKTON — The Stockton Borough School Board of Education has approved a 2013-14 school budget that does not increase the tax rate from the previous year.
The spending plan maintains all existing educational programs, and provides funds to continue world language programs that have been introduced at the school over the past few years,” according to James Gallagher, board president.
For the upcoming school year, Stockton School is expecting to receive an unprecedented amount of state aid, roughly $300,000, thanks to its participation in the New Jersey Interdistrict School Choice Program.
This program allows New Jersey students to attend public schools outside their district of residence at no additional cost to their families. Instead, the state provides increased state aid to the school for each student who enrolls in a “choice” school, helping small districts like Stockton plug their budget holes.
”Because state aid can fluctuate greatly from year to year, we are using this additional aid for “one-time” projects we’ve been putting off for many years, mainly because we’ve always tried to keep costs low and therefore haven’t been willing to spend on these things, even though we’ve needed them badly,” Mr. Gallagher said.
”For example, we’ll be upgrading textbooks and having some maintenance work done on the building that has become necessary,” he said.
Special projects budgeted for 2013-14 include upgrades to the playground, repairs to the exterior stairs and railings, and maintenance on the parking lot, including a new fence and asphalt resurfacing. Math textbooks in all grades will be upgraded, and a new series of reading textbooks for PreK through second grade will be incorporated. In addition, the district will put about $88,000 into a special maintenance fund, so the money can be used as needed in future years without the district having to raise taxes.
The tax levy — the amount to be provided by taxpayers in 2013-14 — will be $636,715. The Board of Education originally proposed a budget with a 2 percent tax reduction, but this proposal was rejected by the state Department of Education, which said Stockton’s current tax rate was at the statutory level for adequacy as established by the state code. This means that the current local tax levy for the Stockton School is the lowest allowable by law.
To keep costs low, the school continues to share services with other districts. These include administrative and educational positions, the child study team, speech, and occupational services.
Stockton also participates in cooperative purchasing programs to save money. The Stockton PTO sponsors educational programs, such as field trips, assemblies, and a Chinese language program. The school has also received grants from the Lambertville Area Educational Foundation and the Municipal Alliance for educational programs and materials.
”We are pleased to offer a budget that balances our need to provide increased educational opportunities, like our world language programs, while also providing for facility needs and putting us in a position to realize future savings,” said Suzanne Ivans, the school’s chief school administrator.
”We have always tried to budget responsibly and keep our costs low,” she added.
The school provides facts about the 2013-14 budget on its website at http://www.stocktonschool.us/budget.htm.
— Ruth Luse

