Freehold: Projected Tax Rates to be unveiled at Monday March 19th meeting

Residents within the Freehold Regional High School district will have to wait until Monday night to see what their projected tax rates will look like for 2008-09.

Superintendent of Schools James Wasser said today the administration is not ready to disclose that information until Monday's board meeting, the final one before the March 19 public hearing on the tentative budget.

He said board members would be presented Thursday with projected tax rates for the eight municipalities, even though the board voted 8-0 on Feb. 25 to adopt the tentative budget.

Tentative expenditures for the 2008-09 school year, according to Boyce, will be about $172,159,647. Voters will be asked to approve a tax levy of $108,422,047 on April 15.

The district includes six high schools and is the largest such district in the state.

Business administrator Sean Boyce will give a public presentation Monday on the projected tax rates in the eight municipalities that comprise the district.

However, the tentative budget was adopted at the Feb. 25 school board meeting. Days later, it was submitted to Executive County Superintendent Carole K. Morris by Wasser and Boyce.

All school districts in the state must submit their respective budgets to the executive county superintendent by Thursday. In Monmouth County, there are 54 school districts.

Bonnie Rosenwald, a board member who represents Marlboro, was the lone member to abstain from the Feb. 25 budget vote. Reached by phone tonight, Rosenwald said one of the major reasons for abstaining was lack of information about the tentative budget.

"I wasn't comfortable voting on it without knowing about the (projected) tax rates for next year,'' said Rosenwald. "We didn't have the benefit of discussing the entire budget in public.''

Rosenwald said the board only discussed three sections of the budget -- classroom instruction, support services and administration. "I still don't have the tax information,'' said Rosenwald.

Wasser said today that board members will be presented a budget package Thursday, including the information regarding the projected tax rates for the next school year.

"The board understood what we were doing,'' said Wasser.

He said the administration wants to make sure the numbers are as accurate as possible prior to releasing them to the public. "I don't want to be off by a penny and then someone come back and say, "What are (you) trying to hide?'‚'' said Wasser.

Morris said today the normal procedure is for a school board to have all relevant
information supplied to them before voting on a budget.

"I can't imagine any school board would pass even a tentative budget without realizing the effect it would have on local taxes,'' said Morris.

Voters in the eight municipalities within the district approved the school budget in 2007.

The eight municipalities are Englishtown, Colts Neck, Farmingdale, Manalapan, Marlboro, Howell, Freehold and Freehold Township.

Monday's meeting is scheduled for 8 p.m. in the district administration building in
Englishtown. The March 19 public hearing on the budget is also scheduled for 8 p.m. in the same location.

Article was in the APP