The Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District Board of Education has introduced a $92.86 million budget to fund the operation of the school district during the 2022-23 school year.
The budget was introduced during a meeting held March 28.
A public hearing on the budget has been scheduled for 6:30 p.m. April 25 at the Lloyd Road Elementary School, Aberdeen Township. The board members may vote to adopt the budget following the public hearing.
The 2022-23 budget will be supported by the collection of a $61.45 million tax levy to be collected from residential and commercial property owners in Aberdeen Township and Matawan.
According to information provided by the board, property owners in Aberdeen Township will pay $41.5 million of the total tax levy and property owners in Matawan will pay $19.95 million of the total tax levy.
The school district will see a $490,000 decrease in its state aid from $13.43 million in 2021-22 to $12.94 million in 2022-23 under the terms of a state school funding law known as S-2.
The school district’s budget for the current 2021-22 school year totals $84.95 million and is being supported through the collection of $60.51 million in taxes from residential and commercial property owners in Aberdeen Township and Matawan.
Aberdeen Township’s property owners are paying $40.86 million of the total tax levy and Matawan’s property owners are paying $19.65 million of the total tax levy.
For the 2021-22 school year, district administrators said the average home in Matawan was assessed at $367,375. The school tax rate in Matawan is $1.68 per $100 of assessed valuation. The owner of a home assessed at the borough average is paying about $6,171 in school taxes in 2021-22.
For the 2021-22 school year, district administrators said the average home in Aberdeen Township was assessed at $317,139. The school tax rate in Aberdeen Township is $1.73 per $100 of assessed valuation. The owner of a home assessed at the township average is paying about $5,485 in school taxes in 2021-22.
The board has not provided tax rates for Aberdeen Township and Matawan for the 2022-23 school year.
School taxes are one component of a property owner’s total tax bill in Aberdeen Township and Matawan. The bill also includes taxes that are paid to the municipality and to Monmouth County.
Individuals pay more or less in taxes depending on the assessed value of their home and/or property and the tax rate that is set by each taxing entity (i.e., municipality, school district, county).
If the assessed value of an individual’s property increases from one year to the next, that individual could pay more in taxes to a taxing entity (i.e., school district) even if the tax rate for that taxing entity has decreased.
The K-12 Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District had an estimated enrollment of 3,693 students as of Oct. 15, 2021, according to information posted on the school district’s website.
The district is comprised of the Strathmore Elementary School, the Ravine Drive Elementary School, the Lloyd Road Elementary School, the Cliffwood Elementary School, the Matawan-Aberdeen Middle School and Matawan Regional High School.