Barnegat Board of Education Approves $48-Million-Plus Budget

The Barnegat Board of Education presented the total operating budget of $48,635,766 to the community last night, emphasizing that although the 2012-13 school year will see a total general fund increase of $2,670,771 compared to last year’s budget, taxpayers will see a 2-cent reduction in the tax rate per $100 of assessed value.

The reduction translates into a $467,533 net decrease in the levy this year, the board explained, which, in turn translates into $52 per year on an average home in Barnegat, assessed at $260,000, “while maintaining the standard of excellence for delivery of instruction and district operations.”

Earlier this year, .

"I am really excited about the budget, because the process was great, the superintendent was great, and the board was great,” Business Administrator Dean Allison said Tuesday night. “You probably expected, ah it’s a given we’re going to have an increase in a tax levy – well, no, we’re not.”

 Non-recurring expenses and capital improvement needs accounted for the budget increase, Superintendent of Barnegat Schools Karen Wood and Allison emphasized.

Of the $2,670,771 increase in expenses, $1,250,000 account for non-recurring expenses, Allison said.

“It’s in the budget for 2012-2013, but it will not be there again in 2013-2014; the taxpayers will not be burdened by these,” Wood said. “Most of it – 67 percent of that non-recurring expense — is going toward improvements at the Collins school.”

Other non-recurring expenses include window replacements at the Lillian M. Dunfee School and $120,000 for changing carpeting to tile floors in selected schools on as-needed basis.

 “These are regular facilities responsibilities,” Wood added. “We have no choice, we have to take care of our schools. It’s just like taking care of your house: your roof, your windows, your gutters, etc.”

Another reason for the budget increase is fluctuations in state aid, Allison said.

The “general fund” state aid increased from last year by $170,000, while “debt service” aid decreased by $216,000, he said.

“So you can see, we’re in the hole [with state aid],” Allison said.

In addition, SDA assessments increased by $186,326, he said.

Still, despite the above challenges, Wood said she was proud of the board for putting together a budget that lessened the tax levy.

The board was able to do this using several measures they called “efficiencies.” These include plans to install solar roofs on all six of the schools, which will decrease energy costs by 5 cents per kilowatt hour, adding up to at least $100,000 savings, Allison said.

Also, according to Wood, the Barnegat Township Schools have a facilities use agreement with the Ocean Professional Theater Company, which will be housed at the Barnegat High School.  The facilities agreement will generate at least $50,000 a year in revenue.  These funds have been placed in an enterprise account which will directly impact the refurbishment of the Edwards School. 

In addition to unanimously approving the budget last night, the board voted on two bond resolutions that will result in more savings, which were reflected in the budget, Allison said.

“We’re re-financing about 6 million-dollars-worth of bonds that were actually issued in 2004,” he said. “We’re decreasing the interest rate from a little over 4 percent to 2.2 percent, and we will save about $31,000 a year in interest charges for the remaining term of the bonds, which is 13 years.”

During the presentation of the budget last night, Wood said the six Barnegat schools, serving 3,242 children total, employ 539 people and together are the largest employer in the township.

“I don’t think it’s often understood that schools are employers,” Wood said Tuesday night. “It is our responsibility to take care of our clients, and the clients of the Barnegat Township Schools are our children.”

Wood emphasized the schools’ academic and extracurricular achievements, including high test scores in science, math and language arts compared to schools with similar demographics.

“In September of 2011, Barnegat High School was ranked as one of the top performing schools in New Jersey,” Wood said.  “We were number one for the county and number two for the state, and this says an awful lot about all the hard work that goes on [in our schools].”

Most of the budget (43.6 percent) will be spent on general education, but other needs will need to be met, including special education (18.9 percent), school plant operation and maintenance (11.8 percent), support services (6.7 percent), transportation (6.5 percent), administration (5.5 percent), capital outlay (4.1 percent) and athletics and extracurricular activities (2.9 percent).

These will be funded by a combination of local tax levy (52. 8 percent), state aid (41. 2 percent) and fund balance, capital, reserve and other savings and “efficiencies” mentioned above (6 percent).