LATEST SCHOOL BUDGET INCREASE SAVES SOME JOBS, BUT HIKES TAXES MORE

The school district will apparently cut fewer jobs than previously planned in its proposed 2016-2017 district budget by raising taxes a bit more than planned, according to the latest budget documents.

At Monday night's school board meeting the board plans to give initial approval to a $125.7 million budget, with  $111.7 million raised through local property taxes.

That amounts to a 2.47% tax increase for the school district portion of property taxes. For Maplewood residents, that is an average tax increase of $226 per home assessed at $397,000.

With the proposed Township municipal budget expected to increase average property taxes by $82, that means Maplewood homeowners will pay an average of more than $300 in additional property taxes this year.

The original 2016-2017 school district budget proposal issued weeks ago called for a smaller $111.3 million budget portion raised by taxes that would have hit most homeowners with a $165 tax hike for the school portion of their tax bill and would have been under the 2% state tax increase cap.

That plan also called for 20 staff cuts within the district, including 10 teachers, most at Columbia High School. 

But after some concerns about the cutbacks, the district reviewed the plan and chose to use what is known as "banked cap," to allow the tax increase to go above the 2% limit.

Under state law, each district can only raise taxes by 2% each year. But if a district does not raise it by 2% in a given year, that difference can be "banked" or used to allow a higher increase in a later year. Since the district had "banked" cap from previous years, it was allowed to increase this coming year's budget by more than the 2% limit.

That allowed for another $409,103 to be added to the proposed budget, and the tax impact to be increased to 2.43%.

It also reduced the number of staff cuts to 16 district-wide, including nine teachers. Among those are seven teachers at the high school and two from the middle schools. The elementary schools will lose a third grade teacher and an instructional specialist, but gain two first grade teachers.

Among the other cuts are three administrators, including a CHS dean and two librarian/media specialist positions at the middle school and high school.

The board meeting is set for 7:30 p.m. Monday night at the board offices, 525 Academy St.