SCHOOL BOARD AIMING FOR 2% TAX HIKE LIMIT

PATCH with a great take on the school district budget, which counts for most of our property taxes:


The South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education gave approval to a preliminary 2012-2013 school budget of $114.9 million on Monday night, March 5. The Board of School Estimate will vote on the proposed $101,959,453 tax levy to support the budget at a public meeting on March 28.

That tax levy represents a 2% increase over last year's budget. District Business Administrator Cheryl Schneider pointed out that the district is allowed to go as high as 3.48% this year due to adjustments and banked cap, but did not do so because of awareness of the tax strain on residents as well as clear indications from the Board of School Estimate that an increase of greater than 2% would not be supported.

Schneider noted that an increase in state aid this year -- while not bringing the district back to historic levels before drastic cuts in 2009 -- helped the district avert some painful cuts in staffing. State aid rose from $3,592,077 for 2011-2012 to $4,135,298 in 2012-13.