By BILL BARLOW
Special to the Sentinel
UPPER TOWNSHIP — School Business Administrator Laurie Ryan on Monday presented the Upper Township Board of Education with a $35.5 million budget that will cost the average taxpayer slightly over $122 more a year.
The board voted unanimously to introduce the budget. The spending plan for 2021-22 now goes to the county before returning to the Upper Township for a public hearing, scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, April 26.
Spending is down by more than $1.9 million compared to last year, according to figures presented Monday, but the local tax levy will increase by close to $1 million.
Basing the math on an average home assessment of $283,794, the average homeowner is set to pay slightly more than $4,000 in school taxes this year, according to Ryan’s presentation. That figure does not include municipal or county taxes.
Cape May County has introduced a budget that increases taxes by 1 cent on the tax rate per $100 of assessed value. Township Committee has been working on a budget, with the possibility of an increase in the tax rate there as well.
In her presentation, Ryan discussed dwindling state aid and increasing expenses in some areas, including increasing tuition costs for students at Ocean City High School. She said the district has lost more than $3 million in state aid over the past six years, with the expectation that state aid numbers will continue to drop.
At close to $10 million, tuition spending is the largest line item listed in Ryan’s budget presentation and includes funds for the high school and for out-of-district placement for Upper Township students with special needs.
The district pays Ocean City schools $16,250 a year for each student attending the sending district, she said.
“I have 648 of them going over there,” she said. “You do the math. That’s a couple of million dollars right there.”
The township has no leeway in tuition, she said.
“Whatever Ocean City charges us for the number of kids we’re sending there, that’s what we’re paying them,” she said.
According to the state’s formulas, Upper Township is overfunded, meaning it spends too much per student compared to the state average. According to Ryan, much of that is from fixed costs, including tuition. She said the state reduction will impact local property owners.
“Essentially what is happening, and we all see this, is that they’re moving the burden from the state to the taxpayers. We need money to educate these kids,” she said. “So, if the state’s not going to give it to us, then we’re going to get it from the taxpayers.”
The presentation showed a cut of more than $1.46 million in maintenance and transportation costs compared to last year, coming in at a total of just over $5.1 million. The budget challenge has required the school district to delay some projects, Ryan told the board. It’s either that or cut programs or reduce staff.
“Realistically, we need to get a balanced budget. So we just start cutting everywhere,” she said. “We’re trying not to impact programs.”
Some work will move forward this year, she said, including a roofing project at the primary school. The district also plans to spend $100,000 on replacing ceiling tiles at the elementary school, getting to as many as the funds will allow.
“That’s not going to get all of them done. But you know what that ceiling tile looks like there,” she said.
The district had sought to build up its reserves, which could be seen as the district’s savings account, but next year will likely dip into those savings to maintain programs. State caps on increases in spending and taxation will also limit how the district handles future budgets.
“It’s going to get even tougher from here on,” Ryan said.
There were a few bright spots in the presentation. For instance, Ryan reported that the installation of solar panels has resulted in savings on energy costs. She also cited classroom painting, new bleachers and new sidewalks that she said look great.
Other than the difficult budget picture, the mood at the school board meeting was upbeat, with students returning to classrooms. Vincent Palmieri praised the staff and students, describing it as a joyful moment.
Still, he did ask parents for some help. Many are reluctant to have their children on buses, so far more than usual have picked up their children at school, he said.
“Today, we had 115 — one, one, five — parents pick up their kids at the primary school. And 117 at the elementary school,” he said. “We’re hoping that our families are going to continue to believe that our buses will get there on time, will get there in a safe manner and that we’re sanitizing our buses in between runs.”
And he implored families to continue to fill out the daily COVID-19 evaluation form, introduced when half the students were learning remotely, the other half in classrooms.
“Now that we have everyone back in school, it’s really imperative that we maintain that level of safety, so that is a big help for us,” he said.
He also asked for patience with the school buses.
“From a transportation standpoint, today is like the first day of school in September. So please, parents, have a little patience this week. Some of the times might be a little off,” he said.
The morning went well, he said, but there were some issues for the afternoon.