Schools

Public Hearing on Berkeley Board of Ed Budget Slated for Tonight

Budget down from last year, staff layoffs anticipated

Berkeley residents will get a little change back in their pockets, according to the Berkeley Board of Education's proposed 2011-12 budget.

A property owner with a home assessed at the township average of $204,100 will see a decrease of 52 cents for the upcoming budget year.

"The board said they wanted a zero increase," Business Administrator/Board Secretary Laura J. Venter said this morning.

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She had to do some juggling to achieve that, since the $30 million drop in the township ratables would have meant a .4 cent increase in the tax rate, Venter said.

The public hearing on the $32,022,145 budget - down $1,751, 668 from last year - gets under way at 6:30 p.m. tonight at the Berkeley Township Elementary School on Emory Avenue.

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The proposed budget tentatively calls 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.

But Venter is hoping that number could go down in the coming months.

The budget also calls for employees to contribute 1.5 percent of their salaries for health care insurance premiums, and a four-day work week for district employees during the summer.

The school tax rate will be roughly 51.5 cents for each $100 of assessed valuation.

The amount to be raised by taxation will drop from last year's $26,681,262 to $26,512,541, according to budget figures provided by the district.

The proposed budget leaves 450,000 in the district's surplus account, along with $550,000 in capital reserves. That compares to last year's $620,250 in surplus and $550,000 in capital reserves.

The district will receive $1.8 million in state aid, down from the $3 million received in 2009, Venter said.

"We get very little for a district our size," she said.


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