Belleville School Budget Gets Green Light: Here’s The Tax Impact

BELLEVILLE, NJ — Belleville homeowners will face a tax hike under the public school district’s latest budget, which got a green light this week.

The Belleville Board of Education voted to approve the 2023-2024 spending plan during their meeting on Monday. Watch the meeting video here, and see the district’s budget presentation here.

According to district administrators, the budget will mean a tax levy increase of 2.02 percent. Here’s the yearly increase for homes assessed at the following values:

• $278,700 - $81
• $350,000 - $101
• $400,000 - $116
• $450,000 - $130
• $500,000 - $145

Here’s where the money is going, administrators said (see below).

A previous version of the budget included higher tax increases – about $256 for a home valued at $278,700, district officials noted. However, that amount was lowered after administrators went back to the drawing board and made cuts.

Belleville district administrators and the board of education held a public budget workshop to discuss the updates and cuts to the spending plan on April 17 (article continues below).

The school district projects to spend $41 less than the regional limit calculated by the New Jersey Department of Education, on a per pupil basis, for the 2023-2024 school year, administrators said:

• $ 2,624 - Regional Limit Per Pupil
• $2,583 - Belleville Public Schools Per Pupil

The tax increase for 2023-2024 comes despite a $10.4 million increase in K-12 state school aid school aid for Belleville, or about 23.74 percent, which was announced earlier this year. That funding was earmarked for the following purposes:

• Equalization Aid - $48,959,149
• Transportation Aid – $625,449
• Special Education Aid - $3,112,840
• Security Aid - $1,686,624

According to district officials, some other budget highlights include:

• Continuation of Academic Program Initiatives and Summer Bridge programs to combat extended learning loss
• Continued Building Improvements
• Middle School Expansion Project
• Meeting all contractual obligations
• No program cuts
• New Classroom furniture for High School
• Enhance District ESL program
• Maintain MTSS/RTI
• Expand STEM/STEAM/STREAM initiative

On Monday, Belleville school officials shared the five-year trend for school tax impacts, which can be seen below. Read More: Belleville Schools 'Back In Black' Under Tomko, Council Says

TAXES IN BELLEVILLE

Property taxes in New Jersey are made up of three parts: school, municipal and county. Here’s how that played out in Belleville last year:

• School – 38.8%
• Municipal – 48%
• County – 13.2%

Belleville officials introduced the 2023 municipal budget during the March 28 council meeting.

Belleville township manager Anthony Iacono said the $77.2 million spending plan is up about $1 million from last year. It would mean a tax increase of $89 for a home valued at $278,000. A public hearing on the budget proposal is scheduled for April 28.

• See Related: Belleville Would See Tax Increase Under Proposed Town Budget

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