The Princeton Public Schools Board of Education introduced a $96.3 million operating budget for the 2021-22 school year at its March 16 meeting.
The budget, which carries a 2-cent increase in the school district property tax, is $700,000 more than the 2020-21 operating budget of $95.6 million.
A public hearing and final action on the budget is set for the school board’s April 27 meeting. It has been sent to the Mercer County Executive Superintendent of Schools for review.
The 2021-22 operating budget calls for $80.8 million to be raised in property taxes from Princeton’s residential and commercial property owners to support the spending plan. The proposed tax levy is an increase of $1.2 million over the current budget.
A 2-cent increase in the school district property tax rate means it will increase from $1.18 to $1.20 per $100 of assessed value.
The owner of a home assessed at the town average of $841,064 would pay $10,125.50 in school district property taxes. This is an increase of $174.29 over the current tax levy of $9,950.21 for that property.
A home assessed at $650,000 would pay $7,824.19 in school district property taxes, or $134.69 more than the current property tax of $7,689.50.
The proposed budget “returns us to normal,” said Interim Superintendent of Schools Barry Galasso. It represents an opportunity to develop a “robust” summer program for students who lost time in the classroom because of COVID-19, he said.
The summer program will focus on academics, as well as social and emotional learning to help students reconnect, Galasso said. Students were sent home to learn remotely last spring in an effort to tamp down the spread of COVID-19. Hybrid learning – a mixture of in-person and remote learning – was instituted in the fall.
“I think this budget represents the quality that the Princeton community expects, and it is also respectful of the taxpayers,” Galasso said.
The local tax levy accounts for 87% of revenue for the school district. State aid makes up 7% of the budget and tuition from the Cranbury School District equals 5% of revenue. Miscellaneous revenue, including tuition paid by staff members who live out of town and who send their children to the Princeton schools, is 1%.
In addition to the local tax levy, other sources of revenue for the 2021-22 budget include $4.5 million in state aid, which is an increase of $296,017 over the current budget. The board will use $3.3 million in fund balance, or savings, as revenue in the budget.
Another source of revenue is $5.1 million in tuition to be paid by the Cranbury School District, which sends its high school student to Princeton High School. Cranbury does not have its own high school.
On the expense side, the budget appropriates $72.7 million for salaries and benefits. This is an increase of $1.2 million over the 71.2 million appropriated for the 2020-21 budget.
The school board has appropriated $7.1 million for the Princeton Charter School, which is an increase of $362,319 over the 2020-21 tuition payment.
Tuition for special education students whose needs cannot be met by the Princeton Public Schools and who are sent to specialized schools outside of the district is budgeted at $3.2 million, which is $215,095 less than the current budget.