This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

East Windsor Regional School Board Sends $75.4 Million Budget to Voters

If the public approves it in April, taxes will go up in East Windsor and down very slightly in Hightstown.

The voted unanimously Thursday evening to adopt a $75.4 million budget for the 2011-2012 school year, bringing the operating budget to $56 million. 

The property revaluations in both East Windsor and Hightstown last year make direct tax comparisons difficult from year to year, but if the public approves the budget, East Windsor's tax rate would rise five cents per $100 of assessed home value, or $132 for the owner of an average home valued at $264,000. In Hightstown, taxes would go down very slightly, 0.006 cents per $100 of assessed home value, or approximately $15 less per $100,000 of assessed value.

The plan, which Superintendent Edward Forsthoffer explained to the board and meeting attendees at , will raise the tax levy up to the state-mandated cap of two percent.

Find out what's happening in East Windsorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Under the budget, there would be cuts to district personnel, including four classroom positions at the elementary level and two at the high school, two classroom assistants, the middle school athletic direction position, one child study team member and one clerical position. These moves would make up a projected budget gap of approximately $690,000, according to the board.

Board President Alice Weisman praised Dr. Forsthoffer for the presentation of the budget, saying of its compilation, “It’s never not painful.”

Find out what's happening in East Windsorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

There were no comments or questions from the approximately 15 residents who attended the meeting.

Last year, the district had five percent of its entire state aid figure slashed, amounting to just under $4 million.

The budget was to the Mercer County Superintendent of Schools March 7 and accepted last week. It will now go before residents for a public vote April 27.

For more information on the budget and polling locations, click "View Gallery" on the image at the top of this article and look at the attached PDFs.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?