SOMERS POINT — The Board of Education adopted the Somers Point School District’s $22,668,282 budget for 2023-24 on April 27.
The spending plan includes a 2 percent tax levy increase coupled with staffing cuts, according to a presentation by Superintendent Michelle CarneyRay-Yoder and Business Administrator Mary Conroy.
The local school tax rate, which had remained steady at 98.4 cents since 2020-21, would increase 1.9 cents to $1 per $100 of assessed value. That amounts to $19 more for each $100,000 or $38 more per year on a home assessed at the average of $200,000.
The general fund is $15,933,299, special revenue fund $6,474,027 and debt service fund $933,909. The tax levy is $10,664,909.
Plummeting enrollment combined with decreasing state aid has forced the district to cut staffing as well. Workforce reduction includes four retirements, four resignations and two terminations.
The presentation included a slide showing the district’s enrollment history dating back to 2008. There were 1,204 students in fall 2009 and just 680 in fall 2022, a loss of 524 students.
At the same time, state aid has fallen dramatically under the Student Funding Reform Act of 2018. According to the presentation, the district received $5.79 million for 2020 and just $3.3 million for 2024, including a loss of $1.1 million for 2023-24. That’s $303,816 less than the business administrator anticipated last month, before the figures were released, and a total loss of $2,448,859 since 2020.
However, the state Legislature approved a supplemental funding measure that returned $102 million, or about two-thirds of the $157 million that was cut statewide, to school districts.
Somers Point is eligible to get back $728,000 from what had been cut, but first had to submit a written plan to the state education commissioner by May 1 explaining how they would use it and how they will operate in future years without it.
Included in the budget is funds for the creation of new bathrooms to accommodate preschool students. The superintendent said they applied for a grant and will build them using capital reserve funds and have them ready for September, anticipating refilling that coffer with the grant.
“We are trying every avenue that we possibly can to make sure that we are maximizing things for our students,” CarneyRay-Yoder said.
Other taxes
Taxpayers will also see an increase in their municipal and regional school tax rates, but a decrease in the county rate
City Council adopted its $19,532,652 budget for 2023 the same evening. It calls for a rate increase of 8.36 cents to $1.11 per $100 of assessed value. That amounts to $83 on every $100,000 of property value, or about $166 on a $200,000 house.
The Mainland Regional High School Board of Education also approved its $31,445,153 budget for 2023-24 on April 27, calling for a slight tax increase in all three sending districts.
The spending plan consists of a $19,642,254 general fund tax levy, $3,338,269 in fund balance and $8,185,924 in state aid.
It requires a tax levy increase of $347,309, or 1.8 percent, over the previous budget. The total allowable by law without voter approval is 2 percent.
Taxpayers in Somers Point would see their rate rise .2 cents to 74.3 cents per $100 of assessed value, or an increase of $2 on every $100,000. The total regional school tax levy in the city by the bay would be $8,520,292.
That’s a total rate increase of 10.46 cents from the city and two school districts.
However, the Atlantic County Board of Commissioners adopted its $256 million budget April 18 that includes a 2.2-cent decrease in the general purpose tax rate.
The amount to be raised by taxes is $172.6 million. Appropriations include $85.9 million in salaries and wages and $170.2 million in other expenses.
The tax rate will fall from 46 cents to 43.8 cents per $100. That means the owner of a house assessed at $300,000 would pay about $1,314 for basic county services, down about $66 from last year.
The drops the tax rate increase in Somers Point to 8.26 cents, or about $163 on a $200,000 home.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff