South Brunswick Township Public Schools Proposed School Budget & Election

Message …Protect & Preserve…

Maintaining Our Excellent School System

The Process October 2005 – April 2006  Administration shares enrollment projections  Principals draft and submit requests  Establish Priorities  Budget Committee Meetings (open to public)  Tentative Budget Adoption-March 13th  Public Hearing-March 27th  School Election April 18th

Areas of Focus  Protecting/Preserving Our Excellent School System ( Maintaining Programs and Services )  Raising Standards/ Expanding Opportunities  Building Professionalism  Protecting Our Investment  Planning for the Future

Budgetary Initiatives  Protect and Preserve our Instructional Programs  Maintain adequate teacher to student ratios  World Language expansion  Resources for the new Math curriculum  Maintain, update and replace technology  Continuation of safe and caring initiatives  Professional Development  Maintain our facilities  Community Involvement

Challenges  233 additional students (9,017 district wide)  Small increase in township ratable base (1.4%)  Protecting and Preserving existing programs  Uncertain State Aid Revenues ???????????  Constraints of S-1701 and No Child Left Behind (NCLB)  Fixed Cost Increases  Fund Balance (now and in future)

Key Factors  New staff & Instructional Materials  233 additional students  Opening addition at Constable (over 30,000 square feet)  Employee Benefit Cost Increases  Rising Energy Costs (+$500,000)  PERS Contribution (+$400,000)  Increased Transportation Costs (+$500,000)

Steps Taken  Utilization of $3.86 million from fund balance  $528K of maintenance needs will be paid for by Capital Reserve funds  Lease-purchase technology items, textbooks and new buses  Fund purchases through the current budget?  Prudent purchasing procedures

Budget Components  General Fund-Operating Budget  Special Programs-Federal Programs (NCLB, IDEA and Other Grants)  Debt Service (Previously Approved Referenda)

Composition of Revenues

Expenditure Appropriations

Budget Appropriations-Major Categories Category % Inc/(Dec) Reg. Prgms Instr. $34,854,754$36,881,9935.8% Special Ed. Instr. $7,213,064$7,574,2435.0% Clubs/Athletics $1,768,212$1,709,400(3.3%) Tuition $3,132,550$3,428,5879.4% General Admin. $1,639,764$1,525,095(6.9%) School Admin. $5,970,863$5,956,095(0.2%) Transportation $7,096,583$7,634,6427.5% Maintenance of Facilities $13,675,668$13,632,526(0.3%) Debt Service $10,913,119$10,978,3790.6%

Dollars and Cents Budget Breakdown General Fund$113,463,472 Special Programs$ 1,668,278 Debt Service$ 10,978,379 Total$126,110,129

Dollars and Cents Total Proposed Tax Levy Increase 12.2 cents ($89,910,441) (General Fund) 0.3 cents ($8,290,872) (Debt Service) Taxpayers will vote on $89,910,441 Levy only!

Cost to Taxpayers Average Home assessed at $190,600 $200,000 Assessed Value (not FMV) Total Impact - $250/year ($20.83/month) $300,000 Assessed Value (not FMV) Total Impact - $375/year ($31.25/month)

$ 10,114 $ 11,210 NJ State Average South Brunswick NJ Cost Comparison Guide for 2005 $1,100 below the NJ State Average Cost per Pupil

Enrollment History 5,042 9,017

Township Ratable History For 2006 an increase of $53 million – 1.4%

School Election Absentee Ballot Applications by Mail - Deadline – Tuesday, April 11, 2006 Polling Places are the same as those used in the General Election

Board of Education Candidates (3)-Full Term (1)-Unexpired Term Three Years One-Year Robert F. LongDeborah Taylor Brian WojaczykEd Birch Barry NathansonDan Watts Stephen ParkerArthur Robinson

School Election Tuesday, April 18, 2006 Polls are open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Please vote!