Millville school officials see $2.7M budget gap

MILLVILLE - The city school system is anticipating a $2.7 million gap between what it wants to spend in the next school year and its total funding, including local property taxes.

That bleak picture could become brighter at the end of February, when public schools look to finally see preliminary New Jersey aid figures for the 2017-18 school year. Millville for now, though, is not hopeful it will get more state money than it did this year.

At Monday night’s Board of Education meeting, Finance Committee chair Brianna Wilson said increasing the property tax levy by 2 percent is an option.

Millville OKs school budget with 4 percent tax hike

The levy is the amount of money local property owners pay in taxes to support the school system. The board could do that without the need for placing it on the ballot for voter approval.

Wilson said that a 2-percent tax increase would mean a $30 per year tax increase for the owner of a property assessed at $150,000.

On Tuesday, board Administrator Bryce Kell said a 2-percent tax increase only would raise another $245,000 a year.

Kell said the draft budget for next year will be assembled on a worst-case scenario basis.

The district has until March 20 to submit a draft budget for review to the Cumberland County Superintendent of Schools office.

The district then has the period April 24 to May 8 to hold a public hearing and vote on the final budget.

The 2016-17 school budget, adopted in May 2016, authorized spending $104,093,275. It called on local taxpayers to pay $11,772,394 of that bill. New Jersey aid covered most of the remaining cost.

The 2016-17 budget raised the property tax rate 3.4 cents for a current rate of 76.6 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

Joseph P. Smith; (856) 563-5252; jsmith@gannettnj.com