Learn About Toms River Schools Budget In Online Citizens' Hearing

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Toms River Regional Board of Education will be holding its Citizens Budget Advisory Meeting Thursday at 6 p.m. and will livestream the meeting on the district's YouTube channel.

The meeting will provide details on the proposed budget for the 2020-2021 school year. The initial budget introduced in March for submission to the Ocean County executive superintendent's office was $252.3 million.

The budget will not be voted on at this meeting.

That figure includes $16.8 million in debt service, which reflects the bonds for the projects to repair and improve facilities across the school district that were part of the $142 million bond package approved by voters in January 2018.

The district's general fund budget — its spending on instruction, staff and district operations — was $228.7 million, with a proposed tax levy of $161.6 million. The general fund levy is a 2 percent increase over the 2019-2020 budget — an increase required as part of S2, the legislation that also had handed the district a $5.3 million cut in state aid.

The public meeting is set to being at 6 p.m. Residents will be able to ask questions by submitting them to an email address that will be displayed during the meeting.

You can watch the meeting below.

Have a news tip? Email karen.wall@patch.com Follow Toms River Patch on Facebook.