Inflation, Transportation Costs Impact Bridgewater-Raritan School Tentative $180M Budget

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — While the tentative overall school budget is increasing, Bridgewater-Raritan taxpayers will be seeing a decrease as the overall ratables in each community has gone up.

Budget increases

The tentative overall budget of $180,098,666 includes a tax levy of $154,957,340 for the 2022-2023 school year. This is an increase of 2.22 percent over last year.

Superintendent Dr. Robert Beers attributed the increase to inflation which is directly impacting transportation costs.

"It really centers around transportation. It's not just Bridgewater-Raritan, a lot of other districts are experiencing this as well," said Beers.

Beers noted the district is expecting a 19.3 percent increase in transportation costs alone. Currently, the bus routes are out to bid.

"With the gas prices increasing, driver shortages we are expecting the worst. Hopefully, it will be better than this," said Beers.

New Staff Hires

Beers also noted in the tentative budget that the district is looking to hire more staff for technology, security, and a district communications coordinator.

One technology person will be hired to handle the influx in Chromebooks as far as repairs and other issues.

"This is one of the departments that we have seen an explosive growth in the number of tablets that we have, it really goes a long way both for faculty and for students to make sure we have the right personnel to support our teachers, to support our students when they experience difficulties," said Beers.

The district is also looking to hire hall monitors and a District Communications Coordinator to handle the district's website and social media pages and keep them up to date.

Beers feels this position will help improve communications and basically sell the district and promote the good things that are going on in the schools.

"We think this is a critical position moving forward," said Beers.

Purchases and Facility Projects

The district is budgeting for new Chromebooks for grades 5 and 9, replacing projector and smartboards for staff, and upgrading kindergarten through grade 4 Chromebooks.

Additionally, the district will replace the roofs at Crim School, Wade Administration, and Bridgewater-Raritan High School's building 400.

Money is also set aside to replace the fire alarms at Crim School, replace Turf 2, and finish flooding and asbestos abatement caused by Tropical Storm Ida at Brigewater-Raritan Middle School, Crim School and Hamilton School.

Taxpayer Impact

What does this mean for residents in Bridgewater and Raritan? The average assessed home in Bridgewater is $472,916 and has a school tax rate of 1.309331, which is 5.55 percent lower due to the ratable increase.

An average Bridgewater homeowner can expect a school tax bill of $6,192, which is a decrease of $76.96 per $100,000 of assessment, according to Business Administrator Peter Starrs.

In Raritan, the average assessed home is $322,240 with a school tax rate of 1.324346, which is 3.29 percent lower due to the ratable increase.

An average Raritan homeowner can expect a school tax bill of $4,267.57, which is a decrease of $45.11 per $100,000 of assessment, according to Starrs.

What Happens Next?

The Board of Education unanimously approved the tentative budget at the March 22 meeting. It will now be sent to the Somerset County Department of Education.

A public hearing will be held on April 26.

The deadline to adopt the final budget is May 14.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.

Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here. Don't miss local and statewide announcements. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters.