School Districts Agree to Cut $300K from Tax Levies

Correction: When initially published at 3 p.m. May 12, School Districts Agree to Cut $300K from Tax Levies incorrectly reported the reduction in the Gloucester Township Public Schools tax bill to the average homeowner as a result of the tentatively approved $300,000 tax levy cut. The reduction would be less than $10, not the nearly $30 that was reported. Patch regrets the error.

The Black Horse Pike Regional School District (BHPRSD) and Gloucester Township Public Schools (GTPS) each will cut $300,000 from their 2011-12 budgets' proposed tax levies.

"That would be about the break-even point before we would have to begin looking at cutting (extracurricular programs)," GTPS Superintendent Thomas Seddon said of the $300,000 reduction to his district's levy.

School officials tentatively agreed to municipal representatives' recommended cuts during two separate sessions at the Gloucester Township Municipal Building Wednesday night.

"I think that that is fair," BHPRSD Superintendent John Golden said.

The Township Council will hold a special meeting Monday night, beginning at 6:30, to memorialize the recommended budget adjustments.

"We all agree that we don't want to touch programs," Gloucester Township Council President Glen Bianchini said after emerging from a closed-door discussion about the BHPRSD budget with Bellmawr and Runnemede representatives, "but we realize that we do need to reduce this at a reasonable rate, hopefully working with the board."

It is expected the GTPS board will vote on the recommended tax levy adjustment at its own meeting Monday night.

For the regional high-school district, Bellmawr and Runnemede's governing bodies will hold similar votes on the recommended tax levy cut in the near future.

The recommended cuts will result in the two school districts dipping into current cash reserves to cover capital expenses that had been budgeted for 2011-12.

The newly allocated money will have to be dedicated for use by the two school boards by June 30, which marks the end of the 2010-11 budget, according to officials.

It was recommended that BHPRSD use cash reserves to cover the full $300,000 adjustment. That money will be used to renovate a single science lab at both Triton and Highland.

BHPRSD board Vice President Kevin Bucceroni noted the two labs have not upgraded since Triton and Highland were built in 1957 and 1967, respectively.

"They're literally falling apart," Golden said.

GTPS will dip into reserves to allocate $235,000 in capital projects this school year and adjust its budgeted surplus amount for 2011-12 by $65,000 to achieve the goal of reducing the tax levy by $300,000.

The cuts became necessary when voters rejected both districts' proposed 2011-12 budgets in the April 27 school board elections.

The K-8 district's rejected $100,912,254 budget called for a 1.4 percent increase, or $611,362 hike, to the tax levy, which would have brought about a $57.10 increase in the K-8 tax hike to the owner of a Gloucester Township home assessed at the townwide average, $199,000.

The average homeowner would see their 2011-12 K-8 tax bill drop by less than $10, to about $47, under the $311,362 tax levy hike tentatively agreed upon between the township and school officials Wednesday night.

BHPRSD's rejected $67,417,382 budget called for a 1.5 percent increase to the tax levy, and would have resulted in owners of the average-priced Gloucester Township home paying $1,023.96 in taxes, or $30.95 more than they did this year.

The average homeowner's hike figure would be reduced by about $5 with the adjustment.

Officials with the K-8 district sat down with Bianchini and Gloucester Township Business Administrator Tom Cardis, Solicitor David Carlamere, Council Vice President Orlando Mercado and Councilman Dan Hutchison.

Officials with the high-school district met with the aforementioned Gloucester Township officials, as well as elected representatives from Bellmawr and Runnemede.

GTPS Assistant Superintendent of Business John Bilodeau cautioned about the hit the K-8 district's budget likely will take next year when "one-time" federal funding of $3 million is not there.

"We received it once. We're using it once," he said, "and there's no indication it will be replaced by another funding program. It's going to be a real challenge for the board."

The high-school district's 2011-12 budget was aided by $1,111,073 in federal funding to help pay educators. It is anticipated that money will not be available next year.