Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • March 27, 2013 FLOW Area Regional trustees approve 2013-14 school budget by Frank J. McMahon The Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School Board of Education has adopted a $51,037,271 budget for the 201314 school year. That budget reflects an increase of $1,050,597, or 2.1 percent, and a tax levy of $46,496,271, which reflects an increase of $849,274, or 1.86 percent. That tax levy includes $1,734,815 in debt service. Frank Ceurvels, the district’s business administrator, Irish honors Franklin Lakes resident Charles P. Shotmeyer, right, receives the Jim Sheehan Memorial Award from MC Steve Boswell during the annual Saint Patrick’s Day luncheon in memory of the former Wyckoff mayor and Bergen County freeholder. Shotmeyer, a longtime supporter of charitable and Republican causes, has served in leadership positions of many civic and community organizations, including the Valley Hospital Foundation, the Passaic County Law Enforcement Foundation and the Northern New Jersey Boy Scouts of America. He is the CEO of Shotmeyer Brothers, Inc. of Hawthorne. pointed out to the school board and the public that the district is entitled to $2.8 million in state aid, which is reduced by $534,000 to $2.3 million because the district’s per pupil cost is above what the state has determined the district should spend. However, he emphasized that the district is only receiving $1.2 million in state aid this year. “This is a direct hit and comes out of the taxpayers’ pockets,” Ceurvels said. “The formula says we’re entitled to $2.3 million, but we’re not getting that. We’re getting $1.2 million. That’s why I’m not happy about it, and the community should not be happy about it either. Our money is going someplace else.” Nevertheless, Ceurvels said the overall budget increase is 2.1 percent, which is the same increase as last year, and the tax levy increase is 1.86 percent, which is under the state-imposed two percent cap. The tax impact of budget will vary depending on the tax rate of each town that is part of the regional district. In Franklin Lakes, the regional school budget will result in a 0.0074 cent increase in the tax rate. The new rate of 43.5 cents will increase the regional school tax on a home with the average assessed value of $1,033,000 by $76 to $4,491 for the year. In Oakland, the budget will result in a 0.0067 cent increase in the tax rate. The new rate of 46.3 cents will increase the regional school tax on a home with the average assessed value in that town of $408,700 by $27 to $1,890. In Wyckoff the township’s 2013 assessed value has not yet been determined. Based on the 2012 assessed value and the average assessed value of a home in that town in 2012, the tax rate would be 37.8 cents and the regional school tax on a home with the 2012 average assessed value of $811,800 would be $3,066. The tax impact in each of the three towns is different due to the complex method the state uses to allocate the funding of regional school districts. The state uses assessed valuations and the ratio of students in the district’s elementary and high schools, not the number of students each town sends to the regional school district. (continued on page 10)