By Peter Elacqua
Staff Writer
COLTS NECK – Property owners will pony up 88.5 percent of the total costs needed to operate the Colts Neck K-8 School District from July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018.
The Board of Education has introduced a 2017-18 budget that totals $25.36 million and will be supported by the collection of $22.46 million in taxes from residential and commercial property owners in the municipality.
A public hearing on the budget will be held at 7 p.m. May 3 at the Conover Road Primary School, 56 Conover Road.
The budget for the 2016-17 school year totals $25.6 million. Property owners are paying $22.1 million in a local tax levy (86.5 percent of the budget) to support the operation of Colts Neck’s three schools.
The K-8 school tax rate in 2016-17 is 73.81 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The average home in the township was assessed at $842,897 and the owner of that home paid $6,220 in K-8 school taxes.
Information about the K-8 school tax rate for 2017-18 and its impact on property owners was not immediately available from district administrators.
In addition to K-8 school taxes, property owners in Colts Neck also pay municipal taxes, Freehold Regional High School District taxes and Monmouth County taxes.
As of Feb. 28, the district’s K-8 enrollment was 857 pupils. There were 83 pupils enrolled in a pre-kindergarten program for a total enrollment of 940 children, according to information on the district’s website.
The Colts Neck School District consists of the Conover Road Primary School, the Conover Road Elementary School and the Cedar Drive Middle School. The pre-kindergarten classes are held in the primary school.