School taxes remain stable
under South River budget

SOUTH RIVER — Homeowners will once again catch a break as they will face no increase in school taxes for the district’s tentative 2003-04 budget.

The news follows a year in which residents actually saw a 1-cent tax decrease in the school tax rate, an anomaly during a period in which many New Jersey school districts have experienced dramatic tax increases.

"I think it’s a budget that will maintain the quality of education here," Superintendent of Schools John Ambrogi said, adding that the proposed budget is fair to both students and taxpayers.

The total budget amounts to approximately $21.3 million — an increase of $660,000, or 3.2 percent, from last year. The district’s state aid has also increased by 1.9 percent — bringing the total amount of aid to approximately $8.4 million.

The school tax rate would remain at $2.35 per $100 of assessed valuation under the current proposal. The owner of property assessed at the borough average of $81,200 would pay $1,908 for the 2003-04 proposed budget.

The budget still must be adopted by the Board of Education, and will be presented to voters in the April 15 school election.

Included in the budget are four new staff positions at South River High School, Ambrogi said. The district may hire a science teacher, a math teacher, an English teacher and a foreign language teacher for the school.

The budget did not include the cost of a new primary school proposed for construction by the board.

Last year, the 1-cent tax decrease gave taxpayers on the average-assessed home a $5 break over the 2001-02 budget. In 2000-2001, that homeowner paid approximately $40 more than the tax amount proposed under the new budget, according to district officials.

— Jennifer Dome