HOLMDEL — The Holmdel Board of Education has approved a $52,606,750 operating budget for the 2013-14 school year, representing a $680,000 net increase over last year.
Approved on March 21, the budget is funded primarily by a $48,450,529 tax levy, up 1.42 percent from 2012-13. Including tax allocations for the district’s debt service payments, the budget would increase local taxes by 1.61 cents for every $100 of assessed home value, according to school officials.
On a home valued at the township average of $617,673, that amount would equate to an additional $99.45 per year, or $8.29 per month.
According to board officials, the district’s state aid funding remained flat from last year at just over $2 million.
Salaries and benefits account for more than 80 percent of the district’s 2013-14 expenditures, with transportation, buildings, grounds and security accounting for close to 7 percent. Employee benefits rose in excess of 2 percent this year, according to school officials.
The budget allots for security improvements and upgrades to all four district schools and the addition of new technological equipment and infrastructure, according to a board of education budget presentation.
Holmdel and schools throughout the state are preparing for the 2014-15 Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) tests, which will require New Jersey students in grades 3-11 to take math and language arts performance exams online. New PARCC-driven technology initiatives are being implemented under the new budget, school officials said.
A new basic skills teacher will also be added at Village School, along with a new special education teacher at William R. Satz School.
Cost savings, which enabled the district to stay below a state-mandated 2 percent cap on tax levy increases, include “continued energy efficiencies” and a nearly $400,000 drop in instruction costs due to outgoing personnel, according to the presentation.
Decreases in administration costs, capital outlays for equipment and facilities, and debt service payments saved the district money as well, officials said.
Some challenges encountered during the creation of this year’s budget included additional private or out-of-district placements and an anticipated drop in federal aid as a result of sequestration cuts, according to the presentation.
In order to address the challenges and increase revenue, the board will continue to focus on district facility rentals, special education tuition programs and other initiatives, including summertime enrichment and food service education, officials said.
The Hazlet Board of Education approved a $49,980,443 total budget on March 21, up about $1.65 million from last year.
For the first time in two years, the district’s tax levy will rise, by slightly more than $650,000 to $34,108,882.
For the previous two years, the tax levy had remained flat at $33,440,463.
Including debt repayments and other adjustments, the school tax rate for 2013-14 will be $1.44 for every $100 of assessed value — an increase of just under two cents from last year.
The general budget also includes an appropriation from the district’s capital reserve funds in the amount of $1,550,000.
State aid remained flat for the district at $12,731,511. The total is still more than $500,000 above the amount received in 2011-12.
Other revenues and appropriations include $80,000 in preschool tuition, $40,000 in interest income and $25,000 in facility rental fees.
The district’s largest expense for 2013- 14 is for the instruction of “regular programs,” up more than $600,000 over last year. Employee benefits costs have also gone up by nearly $150,000.
One of the district’s biggest cost increases is for facilities acquisition and construction services — up more than $1.2 million to just under $2 million total for 2013-14.
According to the district website, the “minimal increase” in this year’s budget is due to “conservative budgeting, proactive management of the budget, fiscal prudence, aggressive purchasing, cost avoidance and alternative revenues” throughout the district’s eight schools.
Following the boards’ approval, the budgets must be approved by the executive superintendent of Monmouth County, district officials said.