West Orange School Budget Has Tax Hike, Despite State Aid Boost

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange Public School District got an unexpected boost from Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed state aid figures. But there will still be a tax increase for local homeowners as part of the 2022-23 proposed budget, officials say.

The West Orange Board of Education held a meeting on Thursday to discuss the upcoming school budget. Watch the video below, and see the district's preliminary budget presentation here.

According to the figures, there will be a 2.42 percent impact to the school portion of a West Orange homeowner’s property taxes. This will mean a $217 hike for the average annual tax bill of a home valued at $336,282.

Administrators said the district would have faced a massive shortfall – and several millions of dollars in cuts – if state aid remained flat. But earlier this month, the district got good news: West Orange will get the highest school aid increase in Essex County under the governor's proposed totals – a 44.27 percent jump from last year.

• Read More: West Orange Will Get More School Aid From NJ Under Murphy Plan

The proposed budget includes all current staff, and all instructional, extracurricular and athletic programs. It also includes $2.4 million for capital improvement projects.

District officials noted they will utilize $1.22 million of the banked cap, an unused tax levy for use in the next three budget years.

Some additional expenses the district needs to cover in the 2022-23 budget include:

• Salaries increased by 3.4%
• Health benefits increased by 10%
• Tuition (out of district) increased by 8% to 10%
• Transportation (in-district) increased by 5%; (out of district) increased by 30%

Property taxes in New Jersey are made up of three parts: school, municipal and county. Here's how that broke down in West Orange last year:

• School – 61.1%
• Municipal – 25.7%
• County – 13.2%

The preliminary budget will be submitted to the county on March 28. A public hearing for the adoption of the final budget is scheduled for May 9.

• See related article: West Orange Homeowners Pay 53rd Highest Property Taxes In NJ
• See related article: Tax Gap In Essex County: Many Wealthier Towns Pay Lower Rates

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