During the March 6 Board of Education meeting, Superintendent John Carmello presented Draft 2 of the 2019-2020 school district budget. At $113,429,159, Draft 2 has a budget gap of $803,240. The gap is smaller than Draft 1 due to additional retirements, lower TRS rates and the final charter school tuition rate.
Carmello stressed that this budget gap is only to maintain our current level of service. Other needs such as social workers and special education supports would increase the budget gap to $1,069,812.
The District’s final tax cap is 1.89 percent and would only generate approximately $694,780 in additional revenue.
“It will be difficult to go below the tax cap this year unless there is a dramatic shift at the state level,” said Carmello.
Carmello also discussed the $12 million the District is still underfunded in Foundation Aid as well as the timeline of the State Budget. While he is hopeful they will approve the budget on time as they’ve done in recent years, a late budget could potentially force the district to approve a budget based on State Aid estimates.
Draft 3 will be presented at the April 3 Board of Education Meeting. The community will vote on an approved budget on May 21.
View the entire March 6 Draft 2 presentation here.
Visit our Budget web page for past presentations, a budget development calendar, voter information and more.