Beach Haven School Board tables approval of 2015-16 budget

Approval of the Beach Haven School’s 2015-16 budget, introduced at $1,996,746 in March, was tabled for further discussion by the board of education during a public hearing Tuesday, April 28.

The public is invited to attend the next hearing at the school on Wednesday, May 6, at 4:30 p.m.

Photo by Ryan Morrill
The Beach Haven School Board has some
unanswered questions about the budget.

Brian Falkowski, the school’s business administrator, and Superintendent EvaMarie Raleigh assisted in answering the board members’ questions during Tuesday’s hearing.

“All budgets are a plan. It’s a spending plan with the anticipated revenue that you’re getting. ... It’s a balanced budget,” Falkowski explained.

But the board, which was completely revamped in January after many former members resigned or decided not to rerun, still had some unanswered questions.  A few of the members noted they had just received updated budget information that day.

“There’s a lot of questions. I would rather the board agree to how the taxpayers’ money is going to be spent,” stated board President Irene Hughes, who initiated the motion to table the approval.

The amount to be raised by taxation is $1,699,717. Overall, the total expenses between last year’s and this year’s proposed budget increased 3.7 percent or $71,401. However, the tax levy is only up 2 percent, or $33,328, which is right at the mandated cap. School Choice Aid will cover the additional $38,073.

The anticipated local tax rate per $100 of assessed property value is .103 cents, “which is pretty nominal,” said Falkowski. The annual tax for an assessed home value of $700,000 would be $14, or $1.17 a month. It is an estimated increase of .002 cents from last year.

A few new initiatives for this year include a pre-K through sixth grade math program, readers workshop units, next generation science materials, technology instructional and infrastructure upgrades, enhanced school security systems as well as additional Chromebooks.

Later in the night during the regular meeting, the board approved the school’s participation in Beach Haven’s 125th anniversary open house on Saturday, May 9. The school will be open to the public from 1 to 3 p.m.

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.