Bloomingdale BOE Adopts $17.3M Budget

The  adopted its $17.3 million budget Tuesday. The 2011-12 budget includes a tax levy of $14,340,392 and the retention of all existing programs and personnel.

The tax effects of the budget would include a tax rate of 0.034108, which Business Administrator George Hagl said would transpire to $3.41 per $100 of assessed value, an increase over the 2010 rate of $3.29, or 3.5 percent. The average tax increase would be $172.62.

The budget includes anticipated total revenues of $17,300,098. The district has no debt, Hagl said.

The board heard an overview of the budget from Business Administrator George Hagl during the public hearing Tuesday evening at 

Hagl said all existing programs will remain in place for the 2011-12 school year, and that the basketball program has been added back. Other new items in the budget include:

• New handwriting workbooks for kindergarten and first grade
• New math workbooks for grades 2 and 4
• New handwriting workbooks for grades 2 and 3
• New social studies workbooks for grade 3
• New science textbooks for grade 4
• New spelling workbooks for grade 5
• New library software catalog system with bar coding capability for all three schools
• Asbestos floor tile removal in one room at the 
• Replacement of exterior doors at the Walter T. Bergen School

Hagl said the cost-saving measures that are included in the budget are continued participation in the Transportation Consortium, continued participation in the Ed-Data Cooperative Bidding Service and several inter-local agreements with other towns for things such as technology support and transport vehicles.

Combining the school district reverse 911 system with the Borough of Bloomingdale and combining technology services with the borough are still being evaluated.

Hagl also mentioned the district’s attempts to obtain a Power Purchase Agreement for a roof replacement/solar panel project that would replace the worn-out roof at Walter T. Bergen at no cost to taxpayers.

“We are trying to avoid going to the taxpayers to ask for a bond or referendum,” Hagl said. The district’s Request for Proposals for the project is due April 20.

As with most other school districts in the state, Bloomingdale saw its state aid go up, Hagl said. The district received $164,175 in state aid, an increase of 11.1 percent.

Last year, the district saw a 35.7 percent reduction in state aid. The district also has a considerably reduced payment toward a state bond that New Jersey floated last year on behalf of all the school districts.

Some of the largest savings factors in the budget include sending 16 fewer students to Butler High School for a savings of $439,073, the utilization of a $417,504 surplus, a capital reserve allocation of $123,600 and a tuition reserve allocation of $167,156.

When voters head to the polls on April 27, the public question on the ballot will be whether $14,390,715 should be raised for general funds for the 2011-12 school year.

More detailed information about the budget can be found on the district’s website.