Galloway Board of Education Passes Budget With 2.94-Cent Local Tax Levy Increase For $200,000 Homes

The Galloway Township Board of Education approved the $61,631,502 budget at its meeting Monday night, March 25 at the middle school by a vote that nearly mirrored the vote for the introduced budget earlier this month.

The vote was 6-1, with Board President Ernest Huggard, Vice President George Schwenger and Board Members Madeline Avery, Suzette Cordero, Rich Dase and David Carmen voting in favor of the budget. Board Member Beverly Evensen was the lone dissenting voice, with Board Members John Knorr and Rosemary Hollway absent. Knorr and Hollway were also absent when the budget was introduced on March 5.

Evensen previously voiced her disapproval of the budget, stating that things remaining status quo was not satisfactory to her neighbors at Four Seasons. She stated at the time that further reductions were needed, and reaffirmed that position with her vote against the budget Monday night.

The budget carries with it a local tax levy of $30,193,840, translating to an increase of 2.94 cents per home assessed at $200,000.

The budget passed Monday night almost exactly resembled the one introduced on March 5, with two exceptions, in the area of facilities and operations. These included improvements to two or three canopies at the schools, as opposed to one, as proposed when initially introduced; and the hope to replace three or four carpets in classrooms, as opposed to the initially targeted one or two. Both these changes depend on pricing, Business Administrator Tim Kelley said.

“This budget is responsible to both the children as well as the taxpayers,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Annette Giaquinto said. “There were some requests that didn’t make it into the budget and there are $1.4 million worth of reductions. This budget isn’t a wish list.”

The school district received $300,000 in state aid. The budget is below state adequacy by $412,191, meaning operating expenses for the district are between $4 million and $5 million less than what the state would expect it to be. In certain circumstances, if a district is above adequacy and receiving state aid, they become in danger of losing their aid.

No districts had their aid reduced this year, and the school district was hoping for an increase in state aid. Since 2008-09, state aid has decreased from $25,199,989 to $23,572,868 this year. It translates to a reduction of $184,842 annually, despite the increase in aid this year.

Additionally, the school district deposited $750,000 in capital reserve to begin roof repairs at Smithville and Roland Rogers elementary schools.