Spending plan brushes up against $22 million
By John Tredrea, Special Writer
A $21,995,619 budget for 2014-2015 was adopted unanimously by the full South Hunterdon Regional School Board at a meeting held at West Amwell Elementary School Monday night.
”Our budget is $380,000 below the total amount that our four individual districts sent to us,” South Hunterdon Regional School Board president Dan Seiter said at the meeting.
Those four districts are Lambertville, Stockton, West Amwell and South Hunterdon Regional High School. Those four districts will officially cease to exist July 1. The new regional district will be in full operation on that date, thanks to the recent approval of the state Department of Education.
The consolidation of the four districts into one regional pre-K to grade 12 district was approved in a referendum last September.
The budget will result in school tax rate increases in the district’s three constituent towns:
In Lambertville, the tax rate will go up 5.2 cents per $100 assessed value. For a house assessed at $300,000, that means an annual school tax increase of $157 over last year.
In West Amwell, the rate will go up 6.9 cents, bringing an annual school tax hike of $207 for a home assessed at $300,000.
In Stockton, the tax rate will go up just under 0.7 one cent per $100 value, bringing an annual increase of $20.
The different tax impacts for the three municipalities result from the application of a state-mandated equalization formula, which takes into account the disparities between the market values and assessed values of properties.
Echoing Mr. Seiter’s comment on the savings regionalization has brought thus far, board member Derek Roseman of Lambertville said: “If all four of the districts had had to do their own budgets, they would have had to raise more money than we’re raising.”
Local property taxes will provide $16,412,071 of the budget. That’s a two-percent increase over last year, the maximum percentage allowed by state law. State/federal aid and other sources of revenue will pay for the portion of the budget not covered by local taxes.
The budget includes adding a half-time pre-kindergarten teacher, three instructional aides and a cafeteria aide to the staff already in place. New security cameras for the schools are in the budget, along with new phone, Internet and other electronic equipment that officials say is needed for the regional district to function effectively. Three new school buses will be obtained through lease-purchase.
At Monday night’s meeting, officials said the state may reimburse the new district for some of the costs involved in consolidation. They said it’s unknown how much that reimbursement could total.
About 20 residents attended the meeting, many of them to speak up for Suzanne Ivans, superintendent of the Stockton district and principal of Stockton Elementary,
Stockton resident Lisa Levine, who like a half-dozen other speakers was effusive in her praise of Ms. Ivans’ job performance, said “maintaining the current leadership at Stockton is crucial to an effective transition.”
”She does a fantastic job. She puts her heart and soul into the school,” said Mitch Levine, another Stockton Elementary parent.
Mr. Seiter said he understood their concerns, but noted the new regional district “can only have one superintendent. We’re waiting for recommendations from our interim superintendent (Dr. Louis Muenker) on how to administer the new district.”
Dr. Muenker said: “I guarantee that people in other schools will have feelings similar to those expressed about Stockton here tonight. My pledge to you is that there will be administrative oversight of that (Stockton Elementary) school building, as there will be of our other three schools.”

