Residents faced with five questions in school vote

PLUMSTED - Residents who participate in the school election on April 17 will be very busy in the voting booth. The Board of Education will seek ap-proval of five separate questions as it seeks to fund the operation of the school district for the 2007-08 school year.

On March 28, the board approved the 2007-08 budget for the K-12 school district. According to information provided by the administration, the base operating budget for the school district is $19,799,710, an increase of 2.4 percent from 2006-07.

However, a new state law has forced district officials to place some desired expenditures outside the primary budget question, according to Superinten-dent of Schools Gerald North.

"The new A-1 legislation from the state changed the rules regarding our budget process. It has forced the district into putting separate questions (on the ballot) just to maintain what we already have. Questions one, two, three and five are for staff and programs that we currently have in our existing school budget.

"Approval of these questions would just help maintain the status quo. The fact that we are a low-spending district to begin with and are being forced to go even lower is a travesty," North said.

On April 17, residents will vote on the base budget and four additional public questions.

Question No. 1 will ask registered voters of Plumsted to vote on a tax levy of $8,922,792 to support a base budget of $19,799,710 at a tax rate increase of 7.8 cents per $100 of assessed value.

Question No. 2 will ask voters to vote on maintaining current staff and programs that includes two assistant principals, extracurricular activities and field trips, for an additional $355,371 (3.2 cents per $100 of assessed value).

Question No. 3 will ask voters to approve maintaining existing courtesy busing and a school resource officer at a cost of $162,000 (1.5 cents per $100 of assessed value).

Question No. 4 will ask the public to vote on an additional $117,075 (1.1 cents per $100 of assessed value) to fund new technology and security for the district.

Question No. 5 will ask for $51,017 (0.5 cents per $100 of assessed value) to maintain one school nurse.

"Approval of the base budget (Question No. 1) would increase taxes by approximately $300 for the average home assessed at $386,000," Business Administrator James Edwards said. "The 2007-08 budget would lower the cost per pupil approximately $100 to $9,729 from the previous year, while increasing classroom instruction funds by $230 to $5,705 per pupil. This shows that the district is a model of efficiency."

If all five questions on the ballot are approved, Plumsted's school tax rate will increase by 14.1 cents for the coming year, an increase of about $544 for the owner of a home assessed at the township average of $386,000.

School taxes are one part of a property owner's tax bill. Other components of the tax bill are municipal taxes, county taxes and other special assessments.