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Schools

Berkeley Board of Ed Adopts Final Budget, No Tax Increase

New start, end times for two schools

The Berkeley Township Board Education adopted its 2011-12 budget Tuesday night with a zero tax increase.

The Township Council cut an additional $50,000 on May 10, after portion of the original budget at the polls last month.

“Every line item was reviewed in great detail,” said Business Administrator/Board Secretary Laura Venter.  “The town found an additional $50,000 due to a new prescription plan. We got a quote on prescriptions from a different carrier so that would make for the cut,” Venter said.

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The budget now totals $31,972,245. The local tax levy - or the amount to be raised by taxation, is $26,462,541 plus $1,885,43 for the debt service fund.

Voters turned down the original $26,512,541 tax levy portion of the $32,022,145 budget by a vote of 2,101 to 1,929 in April. Roughly 17 percent of the township's registered voters went to the polls, according to schools Superintendent Joseph H. Vicari.

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Vicari and other school officials had hoped it would pass, since the amount to be raised by taxation dropped by $168,721 from last year to $26,512,541.

A property owner with a home assessed at the township average of $204,100 will pay a school tax rate of approximately 51.5 cents for each $100 of assessed valuation. That figure comes to approximately $1,051 a year for the Berkeley Township portion of the tax bill. That figure does not include the Central Regional school district portion of the bill.

The proposed budget called for the elimination of nine staff positions, including two gifted and talented teachers, two resource center teachers, one psychologist, three classroom teachers and a speech therapist. Vicari said he wants to make keeping the district's gifted and talented program intact. He also has said he could not make any personnel changes until after the Township Council had finished its review.

In other business, Vicari announced that the opening hours for two of the township’s schools will be switched in September due to a change in busing. The measure will result in a $180,000 savings for the schools. Bus stops will remain the same, according to Vicari.

The Clara B. Worth School will move to an opening time of 8:05 a.m. and a closing time of 2:30 p.m. The Bayville School will open at 8:40 a.m. and end the day at 3:05 p.m. H&M Potter will remain the same at 9:20 a.m. and end the day at 3:45 p.m. Berkeley Township Elementary School is unchanged at 7:25 a.m. and dismissal at 1:50 p.m.

“This will save a lot on buses that don’t have to be utilized,” Vicari said. “It’s a great thing. We save $180,000 on our own."

"If we can do that at every meeting we’ll be in good shape for next year,” he said.

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