JACKSON – Members of the Jackson School District Board of Education have unanimously adopted a $152.6 million budget to fund the operation of the school district during the 2020-21 academic year.
The budget was adopted during a meeting on April 29. The spending plan will be supported in part by a tax levy of $95.79 million to be collected from Jackson’s residential and commercial property owners.
For the 2019-20 school year, the board adopted a $153.21 million budget that resulted in larger class sizes and a reduction in positions, but not a reduction in the number of employees, according to district administrators. Jackson’s property owners paid $94.16 million in taxes to support the budget.
State aid for the school district continues to decrease under the terms of a state law known as S-2 that was enacted in 2018. The reduction in state aid is expected to continue through the 2024-25 school year.
For 2018-19, Jackson received $48.77 million in state aid; for 2019-20, state aid declined to $46.47 million; for 2020-21, state aid will decline to $42.99 million.
Superintendent of Schools Stephen Genco said if S-2 is not amended by state legislators, the scheduled reductions in state aid during the next two years will be insurmountable.
“We have made some headway in some of the things we are doing. I do not believe this district at this juncture can cut our way through S-2. I believe our senator (Sam Thompson) and assemblymen (Robert Clifton and Ron Dancer) understand that. We have had multiple meetings with them,” said Genco, who is retiring at the conclusion of the current academic year.
According to district administrators, as a result of the ongoing decrease in state aid, the 2020-21 school year will see a reduction in staff members, including administrative positions, budget cuts in all departments and the elimination of all capital improvement projects, with the exception of an energy savings program.
“This budget is basically the vision of the district to provide a free and appropriate education and it is getting very, very tight, to the point where there are things we have to do that certainly would not be our choice,” Genco said.
Administrators were hoping to fund $1.4 million for capital improvement projects that would have included paving the student access road at Jackson Memorial High School, replacing the Jackson Memorial gym floor and bleachers, and replacing the Jackson Memorial tennis courts, but that work will not occur.
In 2019-20, Jackson’s school tax rate was $1.37 per $100 of assessed valuation. The owner of a home assessed at $250,000 paid $3,425 in school taxes, the owner of a home assessed at $325,000 paid $4,452 and the owner of a home assessed at $400,000 paid $5,480.
In 2020-21, Jackson’s school tax rate is projected to be $1.39 per $100 of assessed valuation. The owner of a home assessed at $250,000 will pay $3,500 in school taxes, the owner of a home assessed at $325,000 will pay $4,520 and the owner of a home assessed at $400,000 will pay $5,600.
School taxes are one item on a property owner’s total tax bill, which also includes Jackson municipal taxes and Ocean County taxes.
The Township Council has transferred $1 million from the municipality’s surplus fund to the Jackson School District to support the 2020-21 school budget.
Administrators have said the $1 million appropriation from the township will allow the school district to avoid having larger class sizes; permit freshman sports to be retained; and permit before-school and after-school enrichment programs and interventionists who serve educationally at-risk students in all grades to be retained.
“We got assistance from the mayor and council and they helped us preserve some programs and services,” Genco said.
“When we were looking at a $3.5 million cut and some of our options going through if we had to do the entire cut without any assistance, it would be even worse … we reached out as a board and an administration and I can say the mayor and council have come through.
“They certainly recognize the importance of the school system as it pertains to the whole community. The district’s position would have been dire if it was not for the council,” the superintendent said.
For 2020-21, the school district will eliminate 41 positions through attrition, retirements and the non-renewal of current employees; curriculum adoption will be reduced to the bare minimum of updates needed to maintain programs; the loss of most of the district’s Tier 1 capital projects; a reduction in summer curriculum writing; significantly reduced professional development; a reduction in school supply budgets; and an increase in the participation fee parents pay for their children to take part in school sports and activities.
Board member Sharon Dey thanked the administration and staff for their work on the budget.
“Each year (the budget) is getting more and more difficult. I have been on the board for over 12 years. Unfortunately, every year I am starting to see things we worked very hard on to build, we are starting to see every little stitch pulled and pulled by our elected officials at the state level,” Dey said.
“I would urge the governor to really start looking out and about, and out of his little circle, and start supporting all of the towns and all of the school districts, because you are dismantling many (districts).
“It is very frustrating as a parent and as a resident that this continues to happen. (Jackson had a state aid reduction of) $1.3 million in 2018, another $2.3 million in 2019, another $3.5 million in 2020, and we are looking at an additional $4 million (reduction) in 2021.
“That is impossible to sustain, absolutely impossible, but other towns are getting more money with less students. It is frustrating,” Dey said.