By Mark Rosman
Staff Writer
Property owners in Manalapan and Englishtown will pay a total of $64.65 million in property taxes to support a $92.11 million budget that has been introduced by the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District Board of Education for the 2017-18 school year.
Board members took the following actions at the time the budget was introduced:
• The board made a capital reserve withdrawal in the amount of $20,000 for the purpose of replacing student lockers in the Manalapan Englishtown Middle School. This is the second installment in a project that will take several budget cycles to complete.
• The board made a capital reserve withdrawal in the amount of $50,000 for the purpose of upgrading school security systems throughout the district.
• The board made a capital reserve withdrawal in the amount of $140,000 for the purpose of upgrading the district-wide phone system as various components have reached the end of their use.
The school district’s budget for the 2016-17 school year totals $88.77 million and is being supported by the collection of $61.71 million in taxes from residential and commercial property owners in Manalapan and Englishtown. The district received $20.11 million in state aid and administrators used $3 million from surplus funds (savings) as revenue in the budget.
The K-8 school tax rate for Manalapan for 2016-17 was 94.2 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The owner of a home assessed at $400,000 paid $3,768 in K-8 school taxes.
For 2017-18, Manalapan property owners will pay a total of $62.36 million in a local tax levy to support the district. The school tax rate will be 95.2 cents per $100 and the owner of a home assessed at $400,000 will pay $3,808 in K-8 school taxes – an increase of $40.
The K-8 school tax rate for Englishtown for 2016-17 was 91.7 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The owner of a home assessed at $300,000 paid $2,751 in K-8 school taxes.
For 2017-18, Englishtown property owners will pay a total of $2.28 million in a local tax levy to support the district. The school tax rate will be 94.1 cents per $100 and the owner of a home assessed at $300,000 will pay $2,823 in K-8 school taxes – an increase of $72, according to district administrators.
A public hearing on the budget will be held at 7:30 p.m. May 2 at the district’s administration building at 54 Main St., Englishtown.