Tax Increases Possible For Lacey With Passage Of School Aid Bill

LACEY, NJ — The passage of a pair of bills intended to give school districts relief from budget woes will help the Lacey Township School District, but not enough to fully overcome the $6.9 million deficit.

The new legislation establishes a $44.7 million Stabilized School Budget Aid Grant Program under the Department of Education to provide grants comparable to 45 percent of a school district's state school aid cut for the upcoming school year. Read more: School Layoffs, Sport Program Cuts May Be Avoided Under 2 New Laws

The bill also allows certain districts experiencing reductions in state aid to request increases in their adjusted property tax levies above the current two percent cap. This could go up to 9.9 percent.

Superintendent Vanessa Pereira acknowledged that many residents are opposed to such drastic tax increases, but she said that it's necessary for the district. She also emphasized that increasing the tax levy was "up to" 9.9 percent.

"Nine point nine percent. As a taxpayer? No," said board member Jack Conaty. "As a parent of kids here that you all educate? It's a no-brainer."

Board President Skip Peters said that for him, students "always" come first, and taxpayers come second.

Parents who spoke agreed that raising taxes was okay in order to help the students.

John Sotelo, who testified in Trenton on behalf of the district, was one of them.

"These children need their teachers. They need everything they can get their hands on. Teachers. An education. The experience in school," Sotelo said. "Don't let them falter because of a budgeting issue."

Two students, Giada D'Angelo and Logan Edgeworth, were also celebrated by the board for having the guts to speak up for their district in Trenton. The two have been outspoken in supporting Lacey schools, with D'Angelo launching a petition to save teachers and Edgeworth creating social media pages to spread the word. Read more: 'My Teachers Saved My Life': Lacey Students Fight Budget Cuts

Michael Ryan, executive officer of the Lacey Township Education Association, noted that the 9.9 percent increase on the tax levy would have an average $287,000 home paying $35 more a month, or about $420 annually.

"It's not an easy decision to make," Ryan said, acknowledging that this was not the way the district had hoped to restore funding. "But making it allows you to lay your head on your pillow at night, knowing you may have made a tough decision, but it's the right one for our students."

This article contains additional reporting by Nicole Rosenthal.