The Weehawken Board of Education unanimously adopted the 2001-2002 school budget at last Wednesday night’s regularly scheduled board meeting. For the first time in three years, the $13.5 million budget will include a tax increase for township property owners.
However, the tax increase is minimal, at less than 10 cents per every $1,000 of assessed property value, for an increase of 3.5 percent.
According to Board of Education President and township Finance Director Richard Barsa, the budget, which shows a spending increase of approximately $500,000 over a year ago, will call for a tax increase because of inflation, combined with the rising costs of salaries and health benefits.
“To keep our fine programs in tact and keep everything else status quo, we needed to raise the taxes somewhat,” Barsa said. “It’s a modest increase. I would have to say it’s minimal. You can’t expect taxes to decrease every year if you want to keep a stable budget and maintain the quality of education.”
According to Barsa, the increase will come to an average of $17 for every property assessed at the average of $170,000. That’s roughly $3.50-$4 every taxpaying quarter.
“We try to keep everything down in every budget,” Barsa said. “We’ve had no changes in programs or in the curriculum. Everything is remaining status quo. We feel that the teachers and administrators are doing a fine job in educating the students and we want to make sure that everything stays the same.”
Barsa said that there were other factors in the tax increase.
“Other than salaries and health benefits, there are other things that people don’t notice,” Barsa said. “For example, the cost of heating fuel went up this past year. Because of the technology we offer in the schools, our phone bills and general maintenance went up. To upkeep the latest technology, there is a slight cost increase. And those little things eventually add up.”
Last year, property owners received a tax decrease of $7 for the average owner of a $170,000 home in the township.
Approximately 17 percent of the 2001-2002 budget will come from state and federal aid, which is much lower than most Hudson County communities. That is because Weehawken is not considered to be a special needs district in the eyes of the state Department of Education, unlike its neighboring districts like West New York and Union City.
Barsa said that the Board of Education does not anticipate drastic personnel changes due to retirements and hirings, so that also kept the budget total down significantly. A year ago, there was some talk that the Board of Education might add different items to the curriculum, like fine arts, music and theater.
“We kicked around some ideas, but it’s so difficult to institute new things because of so many standards that have to be met by the state mandate,” Barsa said. “We’re not able to do all the things that we would like to do. So we’re pretty much toeing the line and keeping everything status quo. We’ve maintained all of our programs and will continue to maintain and upgrade the technology program.”
The technology program, which began nearly seven years ago, started to pay its finest dividends during the past calendar year, when a new computer lab, with complete Internet hookup, was installed in all of the district’s schools.
Now, the Internet is a part of every classroom and a useful tool in the general curriculum.
“We’re proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish, especially the latest SAT [Scholastic Aptitude Test] scores, which places our students among the top three in Hudson County,” Barsa said.
Only McNair Academic in Jersey City and Hudson County Hi-Tech received higher average SAT scores.
“We went from being a Level 3 school district 10 years ago to being ranked in the top 100 in the state,” Barsa said. “That’s something to be proud of. I would have to believe that residents would agree that the minimal tax increase is well worth it, when you consider the results.”
The 2001-2002 school budget now goes to the voters and will appear on the April 17 election ballot.
Louis Rosas, Frank Pizzuta, and Patricia Sullivan are all running for re-election to the board unopposed and will appear on the same ballot with the proposed budget.
“I have confidence that the budget will pass,” Barsa said. “The residents trust the Board, knowing that we’re providing a sound and stable budget. I think they will continue to trust us in the future. With everything we do and keeping everything intact, it’s a modest increase.”