West Orange Homeowners Get School Tax Break From Murphy, BOE

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The average West Orange homeowner will get a $91 break for the school portion of their local taxes in 2018-19, and it’s partly thanks to the administration of Gov. Phil Murphy and the West Orange Board of Education.

The WOBOE has announced that it will return $3 million of the $3.5 million dollars recently allocated as additional state aid as immediate tax relief for the residents of West Orange. As a result, the tax levy for the school portion of property taxes will decrease 0.49% for the 2018-2019 school year.

Compared to the adopted budget for 2018-2019, the average West Orange homeowner will see a $91 decrease, district administrators stated.

• Read more about the 2018-19 school budget here

This is the second straight year the board has returned additional state aid to local taxpayers. Last year, the board returned $500,000 of $1.5 million in additional aid, administrators said.

On Sunday, the WOBOE released the following statement about the local tax relief:

“The additional State Aid for the 2018-2019 school year, an increase of 43.8% from the 2017-2018 school year, is coming to West Orange due to Governor Murphy’s signing of Senate Bill No. 2 (P.L. 2018, ch. 67) into law. The Board anticipates receiving this additional State Aid in future years based on its current student enrollment figures.”

The WOBOE added:

“The West Orange Board of Education has vigorously advocated for a change in the State Aid funding formula utilized for public schools. As our residents know, the West Orange School District has been severely under-funded by the State, placing an unfair burden on our local taxpayers. Specifically, our Board of Education members advocated for the passage of Senate Bill No. 2, which will phase out adjustment aid and eliminate growth caps so that school districts with growing enrollment, such as ours, can receive additional State funding.”

• See related article: Murphy Signs Bill That May Force Tax Hikes On 30 School Districts
• See related article: New Budget: 205 NJ School Districts Get Less Money Than Promised

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File Photo: West Orange Public Schools

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