Budget calls for two new school resource officers
The Burlington Township Board of Education voted unanimously April 25 to adopt a 2018–2019 budget.
Even though the budget calls for a 2 percent local tax increase, residents with an average assessed home of $234,226 will actually pay $99 less in school taxes.
That’s because of a recent township-wide reevaluation that led to a $91 million increase in taxable property and a small decrease in the value of the average assessed home.
In total, township taxpayers will be contributing about $45 million toward the school district’s $69 million budget. State aid to the district increased by $953,341 to a total of about $20 million.
Gov. Murphy’s budget proposal calls for an increase of more than $9 million in state aid for Burlington County schools, and Burlington Township is getting more of that money than any other district in the county.
However, district officials say the school district is still underfunded by the state.
“If the state were to uncap and fully fund the school funding formula, Burlington Township would see an additional $5.7 million in state aid,” wrote Superintendent Mary Ann Bell and Business Administrator Nicholas Bice in an open letter to township residents.
No residents spoke during the Board of Education’s April 24 public hearing on the budget.
The approved budget maintains all programs, services and positions from the current year’s budget, according to documents provided by the district.
It also allows the district to double the number of school resource officers from two to four — meaning there will be one for each of the district’s school buildings.
“We will have four SROs by the end of next school year, which we are very happy about,” Bell told The Sun in March. “We have very large buildings, and we truly believe it’s a need.”
The budget also funds the addition of a behavior specialist and two part-time teachers at Burlington Township Middle School, according to district officials. In addition, the budget invests more in extracurricular activities at several of the district’s schools.
