Manchester School Taxes Rising Slightly For 2017-18 Budget

MANCHESTER, NJ — Manchester Township taxpayers will see a slight increase in the school portion of their property taxes under the 2017-18 budget approved by the Manchester Township Board of Education on Wednesday night.

Business Administrator Craig Lorentzen and Superintendent David Trethaway gave an extensive presentation on the budget. The total budget for 2017-18 is $57,111,582, which includes a general fund tax levy of $43,977,813. That is an increase of $1,205,477 over the 2016-17 general fund tax levy of $42,772,336. The 2017-18 levy is below the state-mandated 2 percent cap.

That increase translates to a 2.76-cent increase per $100 of assessed valuation. Lorentzen said the increase equals about $59 per year for a home assessed at the district's median of $158,500. Board president Donald Webster said for residents in the senior communities, where home values are much lower, would see smaller tax increases.

The debt service tax levy for 2017-18 is $2,786,339, according to the agenda. The figures in the agenda do not include the anticipated school purposes tax rate for 2017-18.

The district received $5,811,621 in state aid in the 2016-17 school year, according to the user-friendly budget on the district's website, and Lorentzen said the district is anticipating the aid will remain flat for 2017-18.

The budget includes funding for new textbooks for the Accounting, AP Physics, Environmental Science, Introduction to Business, Spanish I, Western Civilization, World History and Middle School Science; an additional elementary school guidance counselor; replacement school buses for some that are aging out; and some classroom equipment, while maintaining after-school busing and extracurricular programs, Trethaway said.

Lorentzen said 78 percent of the budget is dedicated to salaries, benefits and pension costs.

He said there are a number of cost-saving measures that go on, from participation in cooperative groups that are able to get reduced prices for a variety of things, including gasoline for district vehicles, energy and data services. The district has saved nearly $3.5 million over the last 6-1/2 years through the state's Energy Education program, he said.

The full budget presentation and the user-friendly budget is available on the district's website under its Board of Education category.

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