2014-2015 Proposed Budget
Washington Township
School District
Budget Development
• The school’s fiscal year runs from July 1 – June 30.
• Each year, budget planning begins in the fall. The
state releases state aid figures in late February and
the budget is finalized in April.
• The school budget is a plan, not an absolute. While
the budget finite in its totality, it must be flexible to
meet changing circumstances and needs.
• This flexibility is controlled by NJ legislation and NJ
Department of Education rules.
2
Budget Regulation
• The state of New Jersey has strictly defined
budgeting parameters and formulas that each
school district must follow.
• All proposed school budgets undergo a thorough
review by the Executive County Superintendent
and the Executive County School Business
Administrator.
3
2% Cap Set by State of NJ
The 2% cap means the district can increase the
local tax levy by 2% over the previous year.
Last year’s levy was $5,549,331. When we add
2% ($110,986),this becomes $5,660,317.
With a $9,900 increase in state aid for 2014-
2015, the district has in total, $120,886 in
“new money” to fund the proposed operating
budget.
4
State Aid
2,6
81
,07
1
2,6
81
,07
1
2,6
81
,07
1
2,7
20
,33
1
2,8
01
,94
1
2,8
01
,94
1
2,8
01
,94
1
2,8
85
,99
5
2,9
51
,82
7
2,9
00
,53
8
2,5
09
,00
4
2,6
21
,76
9
2,5
81
,08
1
2,6
23
,82
5
2,6
33
,72
5
$2,000,000
$2,100,000
$2,200,000
$2,300,000
$2,400,000
$2,500,000
$2,600,000
$2,700,000
$2,800,000
$2,900,000
$3,000,000
2000-2001
2001-2002
2002-2003
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
2006-2007
2007-2008
2008-2009
2009-2010
2010-2011
2011-2012
2012-2013
2013-2014
2014-2015
5
7
00
66
5
64
9 6
95
66
9
67
2
67
7
65
2
64
6
65
1
61
5
60
4
59
2
54
2
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Enrollment
6
State Aid per Student & Inflation 3
,83
0
4,0
32
4,1
31
3,9
14
4,1
88
4,1
70
4,1
39
4,4
26
4,5
69
4,4
55
4,0
79
4,3
40
4,3
60
4,7
62
3,8
30
3,8
93
3,9
81
4,0
88
4,2
26
4,3
62
4,4
87
4,6
59
4,6
42
4,7
18
4,8
67
4,9
68
5,0
41
5,0
89
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014
actual state aid per pupil
$3,830 state aid per pupil adjusted for inflation
Enrollment has declined 22.6% since the 2000-2001 school year. The cumulative
inflation rate for the same period of time is 32.6%. Although per pupil state aid has
increased, it has not kept up with inflation. In today’s dollars, it would take $5,089
per pupil to match the $3,830 received in 2000-2001. We will receive $4,762 per
pupil in 2014-2015 which amounts to a shortfall of $327 per pupil or a total of $177,234 to adjust for inflation.
7
Proposed Budget
2013-2014
(actual)
2014-2015
(proposed)
difference
Local Tax Levy $5,549,331 $5,732,086 $182,755
State Aid $2,623,825 $2,633,725 $9,900
Other Aid $391,090 $361,901 - $29,189
Withdrawal from
Capital/Maintenance Reserve $270,791 $205,500 -$65,291
Total Revenues (Total Budget) $8,835,037 $8,933,212 $98,175
1.11%
Total Revenues (Operating Budget) $8,564,246 $8,727,712 $163,466
1.90%
8
Maintained in the Proposed Budget…
• keep class sizes at the present level;
• keep staffing at the present level;
• continue to fund our core and special-area
programming;
• continue to support our 5-year cycle of
curriculum updates.
9
Capital Project
• Through careful planning and budgeting, the district has
been able to fund many improvements to our buildings
without going to the voters for additional funds.
• These improvements, along with careful attention and
preventative maintenance to our buildings and grounds, have
enabled us to enhance the safety, security and comfort of our
students while still being good stewards of tax dollars.
• The proposed 2014-2015 budget withdraws $205,500 from
our capital reserve account for a roofing project at Brass
Castle School.
• The district remains debt-free with no outstanding bonds.
10
New (and Continued) Goals
Supported by the Proposed Budget… • Full-Day Kindergarten
• Building Security – provide full-time school security officer (SRO)
• Reading Series – partial implementation of new reading series in
grades K-2
• Capital Project – Brass Castle roof project
• PARCC – proposed budget includes technology upgrades to
implement the NJ Department of Education’s new assessment
tool – (Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College
and Careers)
• AchieveNJ – Continue full implementation of state mandated
teacher & principal evaluation programs (software & training)
• Common Core State Standards – continue implementation of the
new standards 11
New Expenses vs. New Money
New Expenses include: Contractual salary increases -- $123,000
School Resource Officer -- $48,000
Full-day Kindergarten - supplies -- $15,000-$20,000
Access points for mandated PARCC Testing - $35,000
Curriculum updates --
Projected 9% increase to medical premiums - offset, in part, by employee contributions
The $120,886 in new money (2% increase to tax levy plus $9,900 increase in state aid) is
not enough to fund the new expenses.
12
To Fill the Gap…
State Permitted Cap Adjustments
• The state allows schools and municipalities to increase
the tax levy over the 2% cap by allowing the carry-over
of previous years’ un-used cap (banked cap).
• For the 2014-2015 budget, WTSD has $71,769 in
banked cap. This means we are permitted to add
$71,769 to our 2% cap amount of $110,986 for a total
of $182,755.
• We elected not use banked cap last year but we find it
necessary to use our banked cap this year to meet the
goals of the 2014-2015 proposed budget.
13
Tax Rates – What does 1¢ Mean?
Tax rates are based on the total assessed
value of the municipality.
In 2014, for Washington Township, this is
value is $680,267,141.
This means for the 2014-2015 proposed
budget, each 1¢ on the tax rate equals
$68,026.71
14
Changes in the Tax Rate Since 2003-2004
2003
2004
2004
2005
2005
2006
2006
2007
2007
2008
2008
2009
2009
2010
2010
2011
2011
2012
2012
2013
2013
2014
2014
2015
Tax
Rate
Per $100
71.8¢ 70.0¢ 70.2¢ 74.0¢ 76.5¢ 73.4¢ 74.3¢ 77.1¢ 78.0¢ 80.1¢
81.6¢
84.3¢
Change
Per $100 -1.8¢ 0.2¢ 3.8¢ 2.5¢ - 3.1¢ 1.1¢ 2.8¢ 0.9¢ 2.0¢ 1.5¢
2.7¢
Overall change in tax rate since the 2003-2004 school year = 12.5¢
15
Proposed Tax Increase
For a home assessed at Monthly Increase Annual Increase
$100,000 $2.25 $27
$200,000 $4.50 $54
$300,000 $6.75 $81
Tax Levy (portion of budget paid by taxes) = Tax Rate
(Municipality’s Total Assessment / $100)
$5,732,086 = $0.8426 = 84.3 ¢ or a 2.7¢ increase over 2013-2014
$680,267,141 / 100
16
Allocation of Your Tax Dollar $1.00 Based on 2013 tax bill – not all 2014 rates have been set
17
Warren County 25.31¢ Includes Library & Open space
Washington Township - Municipal 20.00¢ Includes Open space & Fire dist.
Elementary School* 25.07¢
Warren Hills Regional 29.62¢ Formula set by state – factors in calculation
include % of students from each constituent
district and each constituent districts
total assessed value
* At 25.07¢ out of each dollar in taxes, the elementary school tax represents 25.07% of your total tax bill. This number has dropped from 32.5% of your total tax bill since 1997.
Questions? Call or Email Mr. Roger Jinks, Superintendent of
Schools
(908) 689-1119 ext. 602
Call or Email Mrs. Jean Flynn, School Business
Administrator
(908) 689-1119 ext. 606
Visit our website at washtwpsd.org
Thank You!