By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
LINWOOD — The school district’s preliminary budget calls for collecting an additional $134 on the average tax bill for 2021-22.
The Linwood Board of Education discussed the spending plan during a meeting Feb. 24, with Business Administrator Kevin Byrnes presenting the information via PowerPoint.
The $15,237,429 budget calls for a tax rate increase of 4.5 cents per $100 of assessed value, or $45 for every $100,000. The owner of an averaged-assessed home in Linwood, which is $294,769, would see an increase of $133.55 for the city school budget, as well as expected increases in the city and regional school budgets. The county budget is projected to increase the tax rate 1.8 cents, adding another $53 for an average-assessed home.
Last year in Linwood, when the average home price was $298,855, the average tax bill was $10,165, with the school tax making up 57.9 percent, or $5,886.
The 2021-22 spending plan is up 2.94 percent from the previous year. Projected state aid is $1,138,841.
The city’s ratable base has been declining for several years and now is $930,606,100. As property values drop, taxing entities have to collect more just to stay even with the previous year. The tax levy accounts for 86.6 percent of the budget, with state aid at 7.8 percent and fund balance at 5.32 percent. The district has $346,617 in available fund balance.
Under appropriations, salaries and benefits account for 82 percent of the budget. The district has about 750 staff members. According to state public employee salary data from Dec. 31, 2019, the latest available, three staff members make in excess of $100,000, 10 make more than $90,000, 21 earn more than $80,000 and another 14 collect more than $70,000. The vast majority of school employees work 185 days, with frequent breaks, two months off for summer and most major holidays off with pay.
The district’s cost per pupil is about $19,000, about $4,000 less than the state average.
Capital projects included in the preliminary budget including technology upgrades, facility and maintenance upkeep, replacement of aging ventilators, HVAC repairs and upgrades, LED lighting and renovation to the cafetorium at Belhaven Middle School.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Linwood Education Foundation raised funds to help the district, providing $33,836 to purchase Chromebooks for teachers, $32,190 for interactive displays and carts to assist in the reopening of schools full time and $1,340 for air purifiers.
The district plans to introduce the budget March 17 and send it to the county for approval. A public hearing and final vote would then be scheduled for April 28.