A Taxpayer's Guide to Lawrence School District Spending

The Lawrence Township Board of Education spent a total of $18,425 per pupil for the current school year, according to the NJ Department of Education (NJ DOE).

The department's guide breaks down the amount by category, including classroom instruction, supplies, benefits and salaries.

The Total Spending Per Pupil category provides a more detailed breakdown of district spending, including state expenditures on behalf of the districts, according to the DOE. This figure uses a larger enrollment number than is used for the budgetary cost indicators, including pension and social security payments made by the state on behalf of districts; transportation costs; all food services expenditures; and payments by the district to other private and public school districts for the provision of regular, special, and preschool education services.

The budgetary per pupil cost includes a district's general fund and special revenue fund budget (early childhood aid, preschool expansion aid, and preschool education aid) for servicing students enrolled in the district that are considered comparable across school districts. Under this category, Lawrence's actual budgetary cost amount per pupil came in at $13,731.

Lawrence spent $7,838 per student for classroom instruction, and $2,558 per student for support services.

Support services include areas which supplement daily classroom instruction, including "attendance, social work, health and guidance services, educational media/school library services and the child study team," according to the NJ Department of Education.

The district spent $7,480 per student on salaries and benefits for teachers, staff and administration, an $88 decrease from the previous budget.

Under the administration category, the DOE divides the cost by total administrative costs and salaries and benefits. Total administration breaks down expenditures related to general administration, school administration, business and other support services. Total administration includes the costs for activities concerned with "establishing and administering policy for operating the district, and the costs associated with the overall administrative responsibility for the individual schools."

Administration salaries is a subcomponent of Total Administration that includes the full-time, part-time and prorated salaries of superintendents, assistant superintendents and other general administrators, board secretaries/school business administrators, as well as principals, assistant principals, department chairpersons, along with secretarial and clerical staff for these departments. 

Total administrative costs totaled $1,317 per student, while administrative salaries and benefits totaled $1,181 and legal services totaled $19 per student. Supplies and classroom textbooks totaled $327 per student.

In March, the Lawrence Township Board of Education passed a $67.5 million budget that will raise the tax rate to $2.43 per $100 of assessed value, an increase of about 7½ cents over the current school year.

The owner of a home assessed at the township average of $160,828 will pay about $3,908 in school taxes, or about $128 more than the current school year.

District officials attributed the increase in the school tax rate to the impact of the township’s tax base declining by $27.1 million in the last year due to successful tax appeals by property owners.

“I’m going to ask you to no longer think of our budget in terms of tax rate," said Business Administrator Thomas Eldridge earlier this year. "I’d recommend that as you look at any budget in Lawrence Township right now. The reason being is because the tax rate is unstable due to the ratable base. Instead I’d ask you to turn your attention to the actual growth in the amount of actual dollars collected."

Last year, the average school tax bill for Lawrence was $3,803.76, while the average tax bill throughout the state was $4,120.16.

To view more of the detailed spending report, and how it compares to previous budgets, visit the Taxpayers Guide on the NJDOE website.