Slim Tax Increase in Manalapan-Englishtown Schools 2013-14 Budget

The Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District Board of Education approved the 2013-2014 budget at their meeting on Thursday, March 21, which is seeing a slight tax rate increase in Manalapan and Englishtown from 2012-2013.

The total budget of nearly $83 million sees an estimated tax rate of $0.9248 for Manalapan and $0.7865 for Englishtown Borough per $100 of assessed property value, which is a $0.013 rise in Manalapan and a $0.008 increase in Englishtown. The budget has also increased by 2.2 percent from last year by a total of $1,795,947.

This budget is not taking advantage of the automatic tax levy waiver for Health Benefit costs. Therefore, the budget is $1,067,666 below the statutory tax cap for a tax levy of $52,583,623.

The majority of the budget is funded through taxes with the second largest chunk of money coming from state aid. The district will be receiving about the same amount of state aid as this year, nearly $20 million.

The Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School district is spending $1,174 less per student than the average K-8 school district in New Jersey and $2,294 less per student than the state average for all of the districts.

This budget saw no reductions in academic programs, no implementation of activity fees, maintaining field trip funding, reallocating two teaching positions, continuing the Project Read Initiative, maintaining reduced levels of supply accounts, funding the new teacher and new principal evaluation systems, and effectively utilizing the district’s Capital Reserve Account.

The district’s Capital Reserve Account will be used for the following purposes:

• A wireless environment will be created at each 1-5 elementary school, this will complete the wireless upgrade of the district.
• Installation of a dry fire suppression system for the server rooms in Wemrock Brook School and the Manalapan-Englishtown Middle School
• Repaving of the Manalapan-Englishtown Middle School and Pine Brook School parking lots
• Replacement of the fire alarm system at Clark Mills School
• Replacement of HVAC equipment at Clark Mills School
• Replace and upgrade the Emergency Generator at the District Fuel Station

The Board of Education will be placing an additional question on the ballot for the 2013 November General Election asking residents to approve the additional funding of $1,050,000 for the purchase of 10 school buses. This amount will not permanently increase the tax levy, but just do so for the 2013-2014 school year. If this question is approved the tax rate will be $0.950 for Manalapan and $0.804 for Englishtown.

If this ballot question is approved the district will return to a three tier bus schedule making sure that no school within the district starts after  9 a.m. and that Pine Brook School and Manalapan-Englishtown Middle School begin at the same time.

For an in-depth look at the 2013-2014 budget numbers, click here.