Two ballot questions posed in h.s. district

Voters who live in the Freehold Regional High School District's eight sending communities will answer two ballot questions in the April 17 school election.

The first question will ask voters to approve a general fund tax levy of $105.3 million to support a budget that totals $165.1 million for the 2007-07 school year.

The district's total debt service (payments on outstanding loans) for 2007-08 will be $7.6 million. The debt service tax levy will be $5 million. Residents do not vote on the debt service tax levy.

The district's total state aid for 2007-08 is $42.3 million.

The second question will ask voters to approve an additional tax levy of $1.3 million for freshman sports, auditorium renovations, roofing repairs, instructional and non-instructional equipment. The proposed second question expenditures are in addition to those necessary to achieve the state's Core Curriculum Content Standards.

According to Business Administrator Joan Nesenkar Saylor, "These programs [on the second question] could not fit in the budget. We will have them as a second question and if that question is approved that tax levy will become part of our base tax levy for the future. If the second question is not approved we can appeal [the outcome of the vote] to the governing bodies in the sending municipalities. They may reinstate [the second question items], but they do not have to."

Saylor said if freshman sports are approved in the second question they will remain in the budget for subsequent years.

According to Saylor, if the second question is approved, Freehold and Marlboro high schools will receive renovations to their auditoriums. In addition, Freehold and Manalapan high schools and the district's administration building in Englishtown will receive roofing repairs.

Funds raised for district security will be used for the "extension of cameras and other equipment to keep our schools safer," Saylor said.

The FRHSD Board of Education adopted its budget for the 2007-08 school year following a public hearing on March 26.

Saylor said the 2007-08 budget can be best described as austere. She said subsequent district funding will be impacted by what voters decide to do with this year's second ballot question.

"This is probably our one and only chance to try to get this money back into our base to maintain these programs. This is the last year that a second question is going to be a viable option. Next year if there is a second question in the budget, it not only has to be passed by the voters, but it has to be passed by 60 percent of those voting. Therefore, you would need a super majority and if it happens to be defeated there will be no appeal," Saylor said.

Regardless of how people vote, Superintendent of Schools James Wasser said he would like to see residents come out in record numbers.

"I would love to see 20,000 voters come out and exercise their vote. Taxpayers should get the information, make sure it's factual, understand it and vote," Wasser said.

In addition to encouraging residents to exercise their right to vote, Wasser also commented on a tuition increase the district will have to pay to the Monmouth County Vocational School District for students from the FRHSD who attend the vocational district on a full-time or part-time basis.

Several weeks ago administrators in the vocational district asked for a $245,000 increase in tuition, according to FRHSD administrators. By the time the

public hearing on the FRHSD budget was held, the tuition increase had been lowered to $71,800.

"You are allowed to have a spending growth adjustment rate in tuition and raise additional taxes to cover that amount of money. Therefore, the $71,800 would be raised in taxes," Saylor said.

Wasser said if the vocational school district wants a tuition increase in the future he wants more notice than the FRHSD received this year.

The tax impact of the two budget questions will be spread among the district's eight sending municipalities in the following manner:

+ Colts Neck - Taxpayers will be responsible for paying $10.8 million of the $105.3 million general fund tax levy. They will be responsible for paying $139,122 of the second question tax levy of $1.3 million. If both questions are approved, the FRHSD tax rate will increase 4.6 cents per $100 of assessed valuation (an increase of $138 to the owner of a home assessed at $300,000).

+ Englishtown - Taxpayers will be responsible for paying $626,697 of the $105.3 million general fund tax levy. They will be responsible for paying $8,054 of the second question tax levy of $1.3 million. If both questions are approved, the FRHSD tax rate will decrease 3.6 cents per $100 of assessed valuation (a decrease of $72 to the owner of a home assessed at $200,000).

+ Farmingdale - Taxpayers will be responsible for paying $542,368 of the $105.3 million general fund tax levy. They will be responsible for paying $6,970 of the second question tax levy of $1.3 million. If both questions are approved, the FRHSD tax rate will decrease 4.7 cents per $100 of assessed valuation (a decrease of $94 to the owner of a home assessed at $200,000).

+ Freehold Borough - Taxpayers will be responsible for paying $3.8 million of the $105.3 million general fund tax levy. They will be responsible for paying $48,852 of the second question tax levy of $1.3 million. If both questions are approved, the FRHSD tax rate will decrease 0.3 cents per $100 of assessed valuation (a decrease of $6 to the owner of a home assessed at $200,000).

+ Freehold Township - Taxpayers will be responsible for paying $20.4 million of the $105.3 million general fund tax levy. They will be responsible for paying $262,912 of the second question tax levy of $1.3 million. If both questions are approved, the FRHSD tax rate will increase 3.8 cents per $100 of assessed valuation (an increase of $114 to the owner of a home assessed at $300,000).

+ Howell - Taxpayers will be responsible for paying $22.8 million of the $105.3 million general fund tax levy. They will be responsible for paying $293,459 of the second question tax levy of $1.3 million. A property revaluation in Howell precludes an exact estimate of the new FRHSD tax rate. Based on last year's property values, Howell would have increased by 1.2 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

+ Manalapan - Taxpayers will be responsible for paying $21 million of the $105.3 million general fund tax levy. They will be responsible for paying $270,715 of the second question tax levy of $1.3 million. A property revaluation in Manalapan precludes an exact estimate of the new FRHSD tax rate. Based on last year's property values, Manalapan would have increased by 3.6 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

+ Marlboro - Taxpayers will be responsible for paying $25.1 million of the $105.3 million general fund tax levy. They will be responsible for paying $322,693 of the second question tax levy of $1.3 million. If both questions are approved, the FRHSD tax rate will increase 1.6 cents per $100 of assessed valuation (a $48 increase to the owner of a home assessed at $300,000).

The FRHSD school tax is one portion of a property owner's overall tax bill. The tax bill also includes municipal taxes, elementary school taxes, Monmouth County taxes and several other assessments.

The FRHSD is made up of eight sending municipalities and operates six high schools. The present total enrollment is about 11,800 students.