School Board Passes Initial Budget

The West Orange School District approved an initial operating budget for the 2012-13 school year of $129 million, with a projected tax rate increase of $92 per average household.

Mark Kenney, business administrator for West Orange schools, told Patch, this year's tax rate increase is "one of the lowest in history" and a reduction from last year's school tax of $99 for a typical single-family home.

He added the budget comes well below the state's allowable cap.

The operating budget of $129,182,338 sets the local tax levy at $119, 000,131, Kenney said.

"You have to be cost-conscious and focus on the things that really are of necessity," board of education president Laura Lab said, citing the board's decision to turn down a dance instructor at the high school.

She added, though, that the initial budget does not include cuts to current personnel; the district plans to hire a language arts teacher and a social studies supervisor for grades 6 -12.

The budget will spend $2.5 million to maintain the district's 12 buildings and also ready the schools for 21st-century learning, Lab said.

"We still have to be able to present curriculum to our students, for the 21st century learners and attached to that are the updates to technology."

West Orange , rounding out the total aid for 2012-13 to $6.8 million.

Lab said the extra cash was used to alleviate tax payers, "primarily it went to tax relief … that is one of our prime concerns."

The tentative budget was ushered in last week, in time for the district to submit the budget to the county by March 5.

The district will continue to host budget workshops to manipulate the preliminary budget until a budget presentation to the public on March 28.

Residents this year will not vote on the budget after the school board opted to , eliminating the public vote.

"It hasn't changed our process at all, we're still transparent," said Lab. "We still have to be accountable to our taxpayers."

Resident Joe Sorbino told Patch he was "comfortable" not voting on the budget as long as the district remained under the cap.

Resident Adam Kraemer agreed, adding, "It's now incumbent on the citizens to vote in November for people who are in tune with fiscal realities."

The school board will meet again tonight for a 6:30 p.m. budget workshop at the administration building.

School officials will hold a budget presentation March 28 at 8 p.m. at the high school's library media center.