Sayreville school taxes up 5%. Here's why

SAYREVILLE - The borough school board has approved a 2023–24 budget which calls for a 5.23% tax increase.

Of the $116,543,486 school budget, $70,527,273 will come from local property owners.

On the average house assessed at $145,694, the tax levy will bill $470.43. The budget was approved at the May 2 Board of Education meeting. According to the Middlesex County Tax Board, property in Sayreville is assessed at only 42% of its market value.

The 5.23% tax rise for 2022-23 is comprised of a 2% increase in the regular tax levy, 0.32% increase due to higher enrollment and a 2.91% increase due mainly to higher health insurance costs.

There are always challenges in developing a budget, said Superintendent of Schools Richard Labbe, listing items such as facilities, increased enrollment, personnel needs for existing and improved academic and extracurricular programs as well as upgrades for technology and security.

The school tax hike would be $187.72 on a $145,694 assessed borough home. An additional $282.71 comes into play because of the district's debt service which increased to $2,421,687.

According to the district, the debt service increase is due to the recent $97.4 million bond referendum approved by voters in October. It was anticipated to increase the average assessed home by $315 but came in lower because of competitive interest rates.

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Pre-K through grade 12 enrollment for Sayreville stood at 6,230 in the 2021-22 school year with a jump to 6,357 in the 2022-23 school year. Projections show a rise to 6,423 students in the nine township schools in the 2023-24 school year.

Last year, employee benefits came in at $19,687,034. The budget reflects a 8.98% increase for next year for a total of $21,455,442. This includes a 15% budgeted increase in liability/property and worker’s compensation insurance, a 20% budgeted increase in medical benefits and a 7% budgeted increase in prescription benefits.

The district did receive a 15.95% state aid increase with an additional 1.90% fund balance increase over the 2021-22 allotment. This added $42,689,854 back into the budget. The state aid comprises 36% of the total school budget with the annual tax levy making up the bulk of the funding at 60%.

"We were thrilled to learn that we received $5.7 million more in equalization aid (from the state), and therefore we were able to restore many of the items that we cut, however, truth be told we did cut about $18 million from that original budget that was submitted back in November," Labbe said.

Other state grants add another $12,994,096 to the budget for the 2023-24 school year.

District officials said budget calls for increases in facilities, infrastructure and transportation, technology, security and student achievement and Social Emotional Learning (SEL). Labbe said the benefits from the 2023-24 budget are "great."

Additions to staff include four new teachers, a high school school counselor and a nurse as well as stipends for three new club advisors. There also will be new certified and non-certified staff members including a Supervisor of Special Education: Transition, four full-time campus monitors, seven bus drivers, two bus aides and a custodian.

Among other new item are history and social studies textbooks and licenses, an AP Pre-Calculus course at high school and Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality technology and Silas animation-based social and emotional development software.

There will be new and replacement instruments for the middle school and high school bands, athletic equipment, a new volleyball program for boys and girls and a new girls' football club. The new sports programs include two coaches, equipment and supplies for each. The theatre program also will benefit from lighting and sound professional services.

The district also piloted an augmented reality (AR) software and have budgeted for the implementation of the technology throughout the district. Labbe said not only would it enhance instruction in science and mathematics, but in social studies and English language arts as well.

Facility upgrades include replacement of the stadium lights at the high school, a new or repaired audio board in the high school auditorium, fencing at Emma L. Arleth School and Harry S. Truman School, floor replacement in the media center at the Truman School, portable wall partition replacement in the multipurpose room at the Dwight D. Eisenhower School, repaving of the parking lot at the Jesse Selover School and a portion by the building at Arleth, a parking lot expansion at Samsel Upper Elementary School (SUES) for Central Office employees, minor refurbishment of the health clinic at the Sayreville Middle School and the purchase of one replacement truck, one new truck and an all-purpose vehicle for Buildings and Grounds.

"Obviously the ongoing maintenance and refurbishment of our facilities is a challenge however, when it comes to major renovations, that's covered through the referendum," Labbe said. "But, there are still minor refurbishments that we still have to do within our facilities."

The budget also includes new bus routes, the purchase of one replacement minibus, two new minibuses, one of which is a wheelchair accessible, five new big buses and a truck for the transportation department.

The goal under transportation is to get closer to doing 100% of the district's own school bus routes, Labbe said.

"Right now we're about 90%. Replacement of school buses is always something that's a challenge within our budget," he said. "And of course this year, not only are we replacing school buses, we're also adding to our fleet. So with this budget we're gonna get very close to that 100%."

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The budget also allocates funds for additional full-time evening and central command campus security monitors, school building video surveillance camera upgrades, new bus video surveillance cameras, two-way radio system upgrades and additional metal detectors are included in the budget.

"We live in a very challenging world right now," Labbe said. "It seems every month, every week we hear about some type of shooting taking place. It's an ongoing commitment that we have to ensure the protection of our students and our staff. And that's something that we consider when we develop our budget."

There also will be an extension of district-wide mental health clinical services, including remote psychiatric services available for all students.

email: cmakin@gannettnj.com

Cheryl Makin is an award-winning features and education reporter forMyCentralJersey.com, part of the USA Today Network. Contact: Cmakin@gannettnj.com or@CherylMakin. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.