Residents with an average assessed home will see an increase of about $92
The Cinnaminson Township Board of Education voted unanimously April 24 to adopt a 2018–2019 budget with a 2 percent tax increase for residents.
Homeowners with an average assessed property of $232,338 will pay $91.62 more under the approved budget, which equates to an extra $7.64 a month.
The bulk of the $51 million budget comes from the local tax levy, but the district did see an increase of about $226,000 in state aid thanks to Gov. Murphy’s budget plan. In total, the state’s contribution to next year’s budget is slated to be $9.3 million.
“We’re certainly appreciative to the state for recognizing districts like ours that have been habitually underfunded for years,” Superintendent Stephen Cappello said during his budget presentation.
The share of the budget funded by state aid is still far below what the district saw in years past, Cappello said. He said the state covered 32 percent of the budget in 2001 and now only picks up about 20 percent of the tab.
“It’s not a time to politicize the school funding formula, but clearly there is a disconnect between the demands that are expected of school districts today — which are even greater than they were 16, 17 years ago — and the amount of funding there is to support those,” Cappello said.
Resident Dan Silvio, the only member of the public to speak at the meeting, questioned whether district officials examined all the ways they could cut back before implementing a tax increase.
“I always see what’s needed, but I’ve never seen what’s not needed,” he said.
“There are a lot of seniors in this town that can’t afford another $100,” Silvio added. “Every year it’s always going up. It’s never going down, or it’s never neutral.”
Cappello said he was open to meeting with Silvio and any other interested taxpayers to discuss the specifics of the budget.
“I can tell you, as a superintendent, I am very fiscally minded,” he said. “We are constantly looking for areas to identify inefficiencies.”
The budget plan approved last week will maintain all personnel and programs from the current year’s budget, Cappello said.
He said it also includes the addition of an engineering program at Cinnaminson High School and a special education program at Eleanor Rush Intermediate School, along with funding for the replacement of buses and maintenance of school facilities.
