High School Funding Disparities Disappearing, Councilman Says

The topic of how the taxes raised for Watchung Hills Regional High School are divvied up between the districts has long been a "bone of contention" for many people, according to Watchung Borough Councilman Thomas Franklin.

But Franklin noted at the April 11 Borough Council meeting that he's noticed a trend that favors Watchung Borough taxpayers. He noted the assessments are not done on a per-capita basis, or by calculating a tax based on "so much per pupil for everybody." 

Instead, Franklin pointed out, the assessment is divided between the three participating districts—Warren, Watchung and Long Hill—based on their total assessed valuation.

"If you do it on a per capita basis, Watchung doesn't get a great value because we don't send a lot of students to the school," he added. According to the school enrollment figures from October, Franklin said 306 students are from Watchung, while Long Hill sends 509 and Warren has 931.

"But there is a silver lining in this," Franklin said, adding Watchung used to pay a higher percentage of the total bill than the borough is assessed for now.

He attributed that to growing development in Long Hill, which has shifted more of the tax obligation towards that town.

He said the borough used to pay about 25 percent of the costs of the school, compared to about 20 percent.

"So we're starting to drop as a proportion of contribution to that school district," he said.

He said both Long Hill and Warren have developable land, while Watchung is built out—which will continue to shift more of the assessment onto those towns and away from Watchung. 

Consequently, he suggested residents "move on to other things that concern us."

Of course, none of this matters to Green Brook residents, who are assessed based on the number of students attending Watchung Hills, multiplied by the school's tuition (currently about $14,000 per pupil).