Midland Park April 4, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 3 Midland Park residents expecting to determine the impact the proposed school budget for 2012-2013 will have to do their own math. The tax information provided during the public hearing on the budget last week was based on financial data prior to the townwide reassessment last year, and no updated numbers are expected before the school election April 17, according to board Vice President William Sullivan “We used the old ratables so we could compare `apples to apples’,” said board Sullivan, who chairs the finance committee. “We will use the new numbers next year moving forward,” he said. The board documents identify the aver- Board to present $20 million school budget to voters age home assessment at $300,000; the actual assessment is now $392,047. In its computation, the board used total ratables of $863,221,213, when the actual ratables as of Jan. 1, 2012 are $1,062 billion. Last week trustees adopted a tentative operating budget for 2012-2013 of $19,880,417, up 2.47 percent from the current year. Because payment due on outstanding bonds will decrease by $26,500, however, the total budget amount of $20,303,941 is up 2.28 percent. The amount to be raised by taxation is up $316,562, a 1.8 percent increase. A house assessed at $392,600, the borough’s new average following last year’s reassessment, will pay $6,717 per year in taxes for school purposes only. For the current school year, the school taxes on a $300,000 house, the average under the old assessment, are $6,118. Municipal and county taxes are additional and have not yet been determined. “This budget has reinstated items that were cut from the budget three years ago when we lost virtually all of our state aid. We received a bump in state aid this year to the point that we are receiving roughly half of the aid we received four years ago,” Sullivan said. “The increase in spending for 2012-13 falls within the state mandated cap of a 2 percent increase in the tax levy, so we hope the voters will support it next month,” he added. Revenues to support the budget in addition to taxes include $765,796 in state aid, a $135,128 increase; and $431,561 from the district’s surplus account. Anticipated federal aid of $287,603 is down $88,986 from the current year. The proposed budget includes several additional staffing positions. Part-time music and physical education positions will be added at the elementary level. At the high school level, a full time social studies teacher, and part-time math and world language posts will be added. The board also anticipates hiring an administrator to share the duties of assistant principal for the middle school and athletic director. Reinstating middle school sports and adding an assistant track coach are also anticipated. Enrollment for next year is anticipated at 1107 full time students, including special needs youngsters. This year’s cost per pupil of $15,071 is expected to go down to $14,777. The budget also includes additional funding for professional development, curriculum writing and implementation of the (continued on page 12)