You wouldn’t think the bad economic news could get any worse. But in Plainsboro and West Windsor the prospect of higher taxes could add insult to injury. This is despite the fact that the increases in two of those budgets were kept at a fraction of the rate they have seen in recent years.##M:[more]##
Although the proposed $134.79 million tax levy proposed under the WW-P School District Budget is only a 0.5 percent increase over last year, Plainsboro residents would see a 9-cent increase in their school tax bills, while West Windsor residents would see a 5-cent increase.
Meanwhile, the West Windsor municipal budget, currently being pored over by Council, is projected to increase by 2.71 percent to $36.39 million. The tax rate will would increase by 1.7 cents to 33.09 cents per $100 of assessed valuation (see story, page 25).
In addition to the school tax hit, Plainsboro residents would see an increase in their municipal taxes under the municipal budget currently being discussed by the Township Committee. The budget is expected to increase by 5.7 percent to $21.97 million, with a 3.26 cent tax increase (see story, page 22).
School Budget Approved
The WW-P school board has adopted its $155.9 million 2009-’10 budget, which comes with a 1.6 percent, or $2.4 million, increase over last year, a smaller rate of increase than the average 4.3 percent increase the district sees on a yearly basis. Voters will get their say on Tuesday, April 21.
During a public hearing on the budget on March 31, the board presented the public with the projected tax impacts for both West Windsor and Plainsboro. This is the first year that taxes will be assessed based on enrollment percentages, rather than equalized valuation.
However, school officials pointed out that because of varying calendars used by other agencies for tax collection, this year’s property tax bills will reflect the second part of last year’s taxes — which were still based on equalized valuation — and the first part of this year’s, which are based on enrollment.
Plainsboro taxpayers will be hit harder this year as a result of the new formula, bringing their school taxes back up to nearly the same level as in 2006. West Windsor residents make up 58.4 percent of the student body, while Plainsboro residents make up 41.6 percent. This is a jump from the percentages that were based on equalized valuation, where Plainsboro made up 37.8 percent of the tax base, and West Windsor made up 62.2 percent.
Under the budget package Plainsboro, residents would see a 9-cent increase on the tax rate this year to $1.45 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. West Windsor residents would see a 5-cent increase in their school taxes, with the tax rate at $1.3 cents per $100 of assessed value. Last year’s tax rate in Plainsboro was $1.36 cents, and in West Windsor, it was $1.25.
For a house assessed at $500,”000, for agreement’s sake, the tax increases would translate into about a $450 increase in the tax bills for Plainsboro residents, or $250 for those living in West Windsor.
In last year’s spending plan, the tax rate was up 5.2 cents — to $1.25 per $100 — in West Windsor and down 8.6 cents — to $1.35 per $100 — in Plainsboro.
Officials emphasized that the 1.6 percent budget increase proposed in this year’s budget is a drop from the 4.3 percent “moderate” increases, on average, that the WW-P district has consistently seen over the past seven years.
The 2008-’09, 2007-’08, and 2003-’04 budgets all saw a 4.3 percent increases. In 2006-’07, the budget increased by 3.9 percent, and in 2005-’06, there was a 4.6 percent increase. In 2004-’05, there was a 4.4 percent increase.
The projected expenses for the coming year include a budget of $50.2 million for instruction — a 2.4 percent increase over this year’s $49 million. In co-curricular activities and athletics, the district is estimating a 2 percent decrease, from $2.5 million to $2.4 million.
In special services, the district is estimating a budget of $22.6 million, a 2.5 percent increase over last year’s $22.1 million, while in the area of student support, the district is estimating an increase of 1.1 percent, from $6.2 million to $6.3 million.
While the district originally estimated that it would need $3.2 million for improvement of instruction — a 1.6 percent increase over the $3.1 million accounted for in this year’s budget — new numbers that came in earlier last month showed a larger increase of 4.3 percent to $3.3 million.
According to school officials, this was because the district discovered it had been incorrectly including costs associated with program reviews into the administration fields in the past.
The budget for administration is expected to increase by 1 percent, from $10.9 million this year to $11 million next year. Staff benefits, capital outlay, and adult education will operate at flat rates, and transportation will see a 2 percent increase to $9.2 million.
School principals were asked to thoroughly examine their budgets this year to find areas where the district could save. At a previous meeting, the principals told the board that at the elementary level and at Grover Middle School, the enrollment has shifted in a way in which the elementary schools and Grover will see fewer students next year, while Community Middle and both high schools will see an increase. The district, as a whole, will see a higher enrollment next year.
As a result, the elementary school teachers met and worked on ways to “leverage the declining enrollment so that money can be distributed elsewhere in the district,” officials said. This includes sharing facility resources among primary and intermediate schools, while still maintaining the continuity and quality of education offered.
Similar measures would be implemented at the middle school level, they said. There will be fewer teachers at Grover, and no added staff at Community, even though there is a higher enrollment projected there. Both high schools will be seeing an increase in enrollment, but officials will evaluate and streamline co-curricular programs, reduce other costs not directly associated with class size and course offerings. For example, officials said they would be aiming to decrease substitute teachers and increase the attendance rates of the full-time teaching staff.
Schools will also be aiming to reduce their printing and postage costs, which could be made possible with the use of Infinite Campus — the district’s new student database that allows parents to access their children’s demographic information, attendance, and progress reports and report cards, officials said.
Also part of the budget statement for the public vote is $1,”85 million to be withdrawn from the district’s approved capital reserve account to support a solar project at two schools. The project does not add anything to the tax burden, said Larry Shanok, assistant superintendent for finance. He added that all of the funding would come out of the capital reserve, and that the project is separate, but needs to be part of the budget statement.
The athletics budget will remain flat this year, with no projected increases. Athletic officials said they put a moratorium on purchasing new uniforms, and would limit the number of nonconference games played by high school athletic teams, particularly at the freshman level. Officials also said they would be auditing all of the co-curricular activities, including looking at participation rates and checking to see if there are any programs that are undersubscribed. Those programs would be eliminated.
Other areas of savings include reduction of summer expenditures, decreased travel costs, and the possibility of limiting late buses, as well as field and athletic trips.
One resident, Ken Capps, of Plainsboro, said he felt the board could have reduced costs even further, particularly with regard to the budget for the administration, which increased by 1 percent to $11.05 million. “How can we make that a zero?” he said. “It does concern me that the savings are in the student-teacher ratios. Where are the savings in administrative costs?”
Board members pointed out that the items listed in the presentation where costs were cut totaled about $3.8 million in savings, which reflects the difference in the amount of increase in this year’s budget. This year’s budget only increased by 1.6 percent, or $2.4 million, compared with the 4.3 percent increase last year, they said.
“This is, in our judgment, what we think the community values most,” Board President Hemant Marathe said, explaining that board members are elected to make decisions that represent the interests of the community, and that they are given the task to determine what should be included in the budget based on that. “Our administrative costs are $190,”000 less than the New Jersey state average,” he added.
Still, Capps said he believed there were things that could be done in the schools, and with regard to the administration, with “the way we procure services,” that could save costs. He said he pays $20,”000 a year in taxes to the WW-P district, where his daughter attends. “That’s the same as sending her to a private school.”
The district provides “top quality service,” as one of the top schools in the nation, but at a “below average cost,” Marathe responded.
School officials pointed, throughout the meeting, to the district’s per-pupil costs, compared with other similar districts, and with the state averages.
While West Windsor-Plainsboro’s per-pupil costs increased, it still remains far below the amount the Princeton district spends on its students. According to the state’s numbers, West Windsor-Plainsboro’s total comparative cost per pupil in the 2006-’07 schools year was $11,”533. That increased to $11,”609 in the 2007-’08 school year, and increased to $12,”788 in the 2008-’09 budget, according to state figures.
The Princeton Regional district, by comparison, has spent far more per pupil. In 2006-’07, Princeton’s total comparative cost per pupil was $14,”743. The following year, it rose to $15,”961, and in 2008-’09, the per pupil cost was $17,”290.
“If we did spend at the level as Princeton did, we’d have to collect $40 million more from our taxpayers,” said Shanok. Officials also pointed out that when compared with Montgomery, in Somerset County, another similar district, however, WW-P’s numbers are higher. In 2006-’07, Montgomery’s total comparative cost per pupil was $10,”047. The following year, it was $10,”483, and in 2008-’09, the per pupil cost rose to $11,”234.
Still, school officials said that 2009-’10 projections show per pupil costs increasing to $13,”045, still below state average, and still below most of the districts in Mercer County. By comparison, Hopewell’s per pupil costs rose from $10,”552 in 2002-’03 to $13,”445 by 2007-’08, and Lawrence’s rose from $9,”992 in 2002-’03 to $14,”773 by 2007-’08. In that time period, WW-P’s rose from $10,”534 to $12,”457.
Testing. In other business during the March 31 meeting, Steven Mayer, the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, gave a report on the testing results in the district, originally reported earlier this year. Compared with school districts around the state that are designated as “J” districts in the state’s District Factor Grouping — which means they are the wealthiest districts — in most cases, WW-P students tested above or on par with other high-performing districts.
