Schools

2013-14 School Budget Hearing and Vote Slated for Thursday Night

Board of Education members will vote on the 2013-14 spending plan after hearing public comment

Board of Education members will vote Thursday on approving the $208 million 2013-14 Toms River schools budget. 

In the spending plan, which will be voted on after a 7:30 p.m. public hearing at High School North, $141,838,236 is to be raised by local property taxes, an increase of 1.9 percent over the 2012-13 spending plan, the district has said. 

Board members Ginny Rhine and Alex Pavliv were the lone no votes to the preliminary budget earlier in March, citing objections to the use of a $234,000 health benefits cap waiver. Both indicated that they would have preferred to find other funding sources rather than apply a cap waiver. 

Find out what's happening in Toms Riverwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The spending plan is a "maintenance budget," in that it keeps staffing and program levels stable, administrators have said during a series of preliminary budget hearings held leading up to the preliminary vote. 

"We believe that we have put together a fiscally sound budget, one that provides for the means of the district while being conscious of the cost to the taxpayer, especially in light of the times and recent events," said Business Administrator William Doering, who presented the budget on March 5 to a small audience at High School North.

Find out what's happening in Toms Riverwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It still remains unclear how taxes among the regional school district's four municipalities will be affected, as the county likely will not certify ratable bases until mid-April. 

The district will receive an additional $433,802 in state aid for its 2013-14 budget, a figure that came as a disappointment.

"It certainly was not what we were hoping for," Doering said during a recent public budget meeting. The district will receive a total of $67,712,061 in aid, a 0.6 percent increase over the current amount, according to the state.

The district posted budget information, including the Powerpoint presentation shown before the preliminary vote, on its website

More Toms River Patch articles on the budget are available here:

Two Oppose Proposed School Budget; Plan Calls for 1.9 Percent Tax Levy Increase

School Tax Distribution Breakdown Expected in Mid-April


Tight School Budget Timeline 'Interesting'


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