School Board Accepts Decision to Reallocate Funds

The Brick Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday night to accept a in its 2011-12 school budget following a township council recommendation.

Instead of cutting the tax levy associated with the school district’s proposed spending plan – which was April 27 – township council members ordered school officials to reallocate about $1 million in funding from the district’s operating budget to its capital improvement budget. The council had the option of cutting the levy, which would have led to board members trimming the overall budget.

The amount raised by taxation to support the 2011-12 school budget will remain at $96,506,217, as it was originally proposed, but $1,052,237 of the district’s operating budget will be transferred to its capital improvement budget. That will allow the district to receive about $700,000 in state grants to combine with the $1 million influx to the capital budget to pay for various improvement and maintenance projects around the district. As a result of the proposed tax levy remaining in place, taxes on the school portion of a homeowner's property tax bill will rise by $55, on average.

Sharon Kight, the board president, said the reallocation of funds would be taken from a number of individual line items, such as certain supply budgets, that would not directly affect students. No additional teaching positions will be eliminated due to the reallocation, nor will any sports or extracurricular programs be discontinued.

“I think it was a compromise, we worked it out, and we can move forward with the budget we have,” said Larry Reid, a board member.

“I thought the previous board did a wonderful job in keeping the budget under cap. That was a very stringent budget,” Reid also said.

Kight praised the township council and a citizens’ committee that was tasked with reviewing the defeated spending plan.

“It was a tough decision, certainly not a politically favorable decision, but they did make the right decision in my opinion,” she said, referring to the council’s decision not to cut the tax levy.