Lakewood, NJ - Property owners would see a 4 percent jump - 3.4 cents - in the school tax rate based on a 2009-10 budget that the Board of Education introduced Monday night.
The board voted to submit to the county a $73.6 million tax levy, of which $72.4 million will be decided by voters. The rest would go toward a debt service tax that does not appear on the ballot. The proposed budget totals $138.35 million.
The tax rate is to rise to 91.92 cents per $100 of assessed property value, according to the proposal, meaning someone with a home valued at $400,000 will pay about $136 more in school tax next year. The 4 percent increase from last year is the maximum allowed by the state.
Last year, the budget failed for the third year in a row. Voters will decide next year's tax levy on April 21.
Since 2006, the district had been plagued with debt. It ended that school year with a $1.1 million deficit, which was compounded the following year when officials realized they needed another $7 million in revenue to pull out of the red by 2009.
District Business Administrator Robert Finger said the $6.5 million sale of the administration building on Princeton Avenue to the Beth Medrash Govoha yeshiva last fall has cured these shortfalls and allowed the district to end last school year with a $277,000 surplus. He anticipates ending the 2008-09 year $257,000 in the black, he said.
"It wiped out all the problems that ensued before I got here with (mistakes in) grants and misspending," Finger said, referring to roughly $4.3 million in such over-expenditures. The sale also paid for about $800,000 in security upgrades and a new alternative school.
Finger acknowledged, however, that the plan to pad the surplus with money from the sale "didn't really work out."
The administration has since signed a five-year lease to occupy about 17,000 square feet at the site of the former Jamesway department store on Route 9 that is also owned by BMG.
Finger also expects some $8 million in federal stimulus cash for next year but no additional state aid.
(Source: Asbury Park Press)
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=31828
--------------------------------------------------------
ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS FOR A FRACTION OF THE COST OF PRINT MEDIA
Yeshiva World News (YWN) offers affordable advertising options
* Email Blasts to tens of thousands!
* A variety of banner-ads on the YWN homepage!
* Ads on the brand new YWN Daily Email Report!
* Have your text ad displayed right here!
Email ads@theyeshivaworld.com for more information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Was this emailed forwarded to you? Sign up to receive your own email notifications at
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com//subscribe.php
yid.vid.news@gmail.com has signed up to receive these notifications.
If you would like to unsubscribe, visit the url below:
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com//remove.php?email=yid.vid.news@gmail.com
