$400K may return to Millstone residents
By Anthony V. Coppola, Staff Writer
When Gov. Jon Corzine announced the new proposed school funding formula Dec. 12, it appeared that the Millstone School District could have $496,000 in extra state aid for its budget.
Now that more details have surfaced, close to $400,000 of that proposed aid increase may bypass district coffers and go directly to local taxpayers.
If the new formula passes, every school district in the state would get at least an additional 2 percent in aid for the 2008-2009 school year. Millstone was slated for a 10 percent increase, bringing its state aid up to $5,457,000.
The conflict lies in a section of the draft legislation that says all districts spending above what the states deems “adequate” on a per-student basis, that are in line to get more than the min- imum 2 percent aid hike, must return a majority of the aid to taxpayers.
More than 100 districts throughout the state meet that criteria.
The $400,000 figure comes from a previously published report that subtracts any aid above 2 percent from the total aid increase, saying it must be returned to taxpayers via a reduction in the amount levied for local school taxes.
Millstone is spending $12,962 per student, according to literature the state Department of Education released with the new formula. Its adequate per-pupil limit, according to the DOE, is $12,490.
Millstone Superintendent Mary Anne Donahue, whose district has just over 2,300 students, said they are in a “wait-and-see mode” right now.
”We have not been able to get an answer from the state telling us where they got our per pupil expenditure fig- ures,” Dr. Donahue said.
Dr. Donahue said the first thing the district asked of the state is to verify the per pupil costs.
”Our per pupil expenditures in the school report card are much lower than their (state) total,” Dr. Donahue said. “We still haven’t received an answer as to how they came up with the funding formula.”
Dr. Donahue said tuition money for Millstone’s high school students, who attend Allentown High School in the Upper Freehold Regional School District, may be factoring into the state’s calculations, but she isn’t sure. She added that an answer from the state isn’t expected until after the New Year’s holiday.
DOE spokesman Rich Vespucci disputes the reported figures for the over 100 districts, saying “it’s not a matter of simple math.”
What it is, according to the DOE spokesman, is a complex formula that would calculate how much of that aid increase goes toward reducing the local share of the school budget. How much goes to tax relief depends on a host of different variables, Mr. Vespucci said.
However, he would not identify those variables, saying, “the details have not all been provided for at this point.”
Still, he agreed with the basic premise that districts in Millstone’s category will be giving up a portion of the aid increase.
Districts will have the opportunity to apply for a waiver depending on certain criteria such as big jumps in enrollment or spending that is close to the adequacy limit, Mr. Vespucci said.
Dr. Donahue said the district will take the same approach it has since the formula was unveiled.
”We aren’t counting on any specific aid amount until we see the formula,” she said.
Staff writer Matt Chiappardi contributed to this story.