Robbinsville voters will have the opportunity to vote on another referendum to help make up an expected shortfall of revenue in the upcoming school district budget.
The board on Jan. 2 unanimously approved holding a special election on March 12 to approve a $2.75-million increase in property taxes to make up for the shortfall in revenue. If the referendum is approved, it would result in an additional tax increase of $16.19 per month on a home with the township average assessed valuation of $379,458. It would add $32.54 per month in 2025.
The special election will be the second time in about four months that the school district is asking residents to approve a funding measure. The vote is necessary the amount of tax revenues needed are over the state’s cap on tax increases.
A larger $4.8 million question, which was on the Nov. 7 general election ballot, failed by a 2,300 to 1,964 vote. That money, if approved, would have provided funding for both the shortfall in revenues and also the potential loss of state aid.
The interpretive statement for the referendum reads: “If the majority of the voters vote yes, the Board of Education will incorporate $2,750,000 in additional funds into its 2024-25 school budget tax levy.”
According to the statement, the money will be used to help maintain:
• Teachers and instructional assistants;
• Current programs;
• Facilities;
• Current level of courtesy busing; and
• Current level of funding for athletics and co-curricular activities.
Approval of the taxes will permanently increase the tax levy.
Superintendent Brian Betze, during the Jan. 2 Board of Education meeting at which the referendum and special election was approved, explained the reasons that the new referendum is necessary.
Betze said that expenses are projected to increase by some $3 million (salaries, transportation and food services, for example)in the 2024-25 budget, but the maximum amount that the District can increase taxes to pay for that is 2 percent ($825,500). The result is a shortfall of more than $2.1 million.
Couple that, Betze said, with the fact that the state could have cut $2.75 million in state aid from last years budget, and there is a good chance that it will cut that amount in the 2024-25 budget. “That is on an official form that we received from the state Department of Education.”
“The district will experience significant shortfalls until this problem is corrected,” the superintendent said.
The $4.8 million number from the failed referendum was meant to pay for the $2.1 million budget shortfall and also guard against the loss of the $2.7 million in state aid.
“The $4.8 didn’t pass because it was too high,” Betze said. “So now we’re figuring that we need at least $2.75 million for the 2024-25 school year to avoid significant cuts to the district,” Betze said.
That number is the $2.1 million shortfall plus $650,000 for recurring staff costs.
“The risk of decrease in state aid is still there, though” Betze said. “This question we’re proposing tonight doesn’t cover that risk. The idea is that we want something to pass to avoid those cuts, and we roll the dice on the state aid.”
If the referendum passes, but state aid is not increased over the last budget, the district will still need to make about $500,000 in cuts. They could come in areas such as sports clubs and extracurricular activities, increased class sizes, staffing cuts and changes to courtesy busing, Betze said.
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