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6-29-14 Special Education Costs Not Exempted from Tax Levy Cap Can Impact School Taxes
Burlington County Times - School taxes rising in nearly every local district...'What is causing the tax hikes? Circumstances are unique to each district, but school officials have said most districts continue to wrestle with rising expenses, notably in special education, which is not exempt from the cap."Special education is first and foremost among the pressures facing our districts,” said Lynne Strickland, executive director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, which advocates on behalf of New Jersey’s suburban schools. The total amount of special education categorical aid — the largest form of special education aid most school districts receive — distributed to New Jersey schools is down $162 million, compared with the 2007-08 school year, while at the same time the population of special education students has increased, Strickland said...“(Aid) hasn’t kept pace. Costs are growing at a higher pace and won’t fit under the cap,” Strickland said...'

Burlington County Times, Sunday June 29, 2014 - School taxes rising in nearly every local district

Burlington County school tax levies

The following are the 2014-15 school tax levies for 39 Burlington County public school districts and the percentage change compared with the 2013-14 levies. The levy represents the amount of property taxes needed to support the district’s budget and is used to ser the tax rate, which determines how much each homeowner must pay:

BASS RIVER: $1,356,565 (+6.5%)

BEVERLY: $2,817,744 (+3.5%)

BORDENTOWN REGIONAL: $26,630,061 (+4.1%)

BURLINGTON CITY: $10,488,485 (+2%)

BURLINGTON TWP: $38,033,254 (+2.2%)

CHESTERFIELD: $7,905,426 (+11.2%)

CINNAMINSON: $30,251,332 (+2.85%)

DELANCO: $5,597,301 (+2%)

DELRAN: $28,374,222 (+5.8%)

EASTAMPTON: $4,138,341 (+2%)

EDGEWATER PARK: $8,556,158 (+7.1%)

EVESHAM: $53,325,445 (+1.2%)

FLORENCE: $15,389,355 (+2.1%)

HAINESPORT: $7,256,722 (3.2%)

LENAPE REGIONAL: $104,586,437 (+2.5%)

LUMBERTON: $12,338,726 (+2%)

MANSFIELD: $9,416,511 (+2%)

MAPLE SHADE: $22,457,797 (3.6%)

MEDFORD LAKES: $5,492,856 (3.9%)

MEDFORD: $38,926,028 (3.7%)

MOORESTOWN: $56,318,599 (4.1%)

MOUNT HOLLY: $7,400,372 (+0.6%)

MOUNT LAUREL: $55,374,308 (+2%)

NEW HANOVER: $1,623,750 (0%)

NORTH HANOVER: $2,520,776 (+9.9%)

NORTHERN BURLINGTON REG.: $17,983,527 (+3.8%)

PALMYRA: $8,155,162 (+7.4%)

PEMBERTON TWP: $12,689,163 (+2%)

RANCOCAS VALLEY REG.: $16,195,617 (+2%)

RIVERSIDE: $7,321,322 (+5.2%)

RIVERTON: $4,668,552 (+0.5%)

SHAMONG: $8,190,800 (+2%)

SOUTHAMPTON: $10,456,357 (+3.1%)

SPRINGFIELD: $3,450,249 (+2%)

TABERNACLE: $6,778,362 (+4.2%)

WASHINGTON: $1,226,145 (+1.6%)

WESTAMPTON: $9,003,289 (+2%)

WILLINGBORO: $26,297,476 (+3.9%)

WOODLAND: $1,645,292 (+9%)

Source: NJ Department of Education

Posted: Sunday, June 29, 2014 1:00 am | Updated: 6:52 am, Sun Jun 29, 2014.

By David Levinsky Staff writer

Burlington County homeowners may be in store for some sticker shock when they open their property tax bills this summer as school taxes are on the rise in nearly every local district.

Data obtained by the New Jersey Department of Education shows school tax levies — the amount of money raised from local property taxpayers to support school budgets — are increasing in 38 of 39 public districts in the county.

Although a 2 percent cap on tax levy increases is in place, over half of the districts are raising taxes over the limit, thanks to cap exemptions for enrollment increases, health care and pension cost increases, or by using “banked” cap money from previous school years when their district levies were below the 2 percent limit.

For the new school budget year beginning next month, 23 school districts in the county approved budgets using exemptions to raise their tax levies above 2 percent, including eight districts with levies that grew by more than 5 percent.

By comparison, during the 2013-14 school year, 16 districts in the county approved budgets increasing their levies more than 2 percent; in 2012-13, only eight districts raised taxes greater than 2 percent.

Chesterfield’s 11.2 percent increase was the largest in the county, followed by North Hanover (9.9 percent), Woodland (9 percent), Palmyra (7.4 percent), Edgewater Park (7.1 percent) and Bass River (6.5 percent).

New Hanover was the only district that approved a budget with a flat tax levy.

Chesterfield’s tax levy ballooned by more than $800,000, from $7.1 million in 2013-14 to $7.9 million for 2014-15. The district used the enrollment growth and health care exemptions, along with $222,831 in “banked” cap money.

The rise in the levy is causing the township’s school tax rate to go up nearly 11 cents to $1.266 per $100 of assessed property value, forcing the owner of a home assessed at the township average of $394,897 to pay $4,999 in school taxes, up $430.

North Hanover also used exemptions for enrollment increases and health care costs. In addition, the district used $50,367 in “banked” cap money.

A total of 15 school districts in the county were given more cap flexibility because of enrollment changes. Twenty districts used exemptions for health care increases, and 21 used “banked” cap money.

What is causing the tax hikes? Circumstances are unique to each district, but school officials have said most districts continue to wrestle with rising expenses, notably in special education, which is not exempt from the cap.

“Special education is first and foremost among the pressures facing our districts,” said Lynne Strickland, executive director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, which advocates on behalf of New Jersey’s suburban schools.

The total amount of special education categorical aid — the largest form of special education aid most school districts receive — distributed to New Jersey schools is down $162 million, compared with the 2007-08 school year, while at the same time the population of special education students has increased, Strickland said.

All school districts in Burlington County are slated to receive an increase in school aid from the state for 2014-15. However, the increases are less than 1 percent for all but five districts.

“(Aid) hasn’t kept pace. Costs are growing at a higher pace and won’t fit under the cap,” Strickland said.

Contractual costs also may have played a role in some increases. According to the New Jersey School Boards Association, teacher salaries are due to increase an average of 2.5 percent in 2014-15 under agreements approved by school boards in Burlington County.

Another factor is likely the cap law itself, which mandates that districts use any “banked cap” money after three years. The law went into effect in 2011, so this budget year marks the first time school districts faced the prospect of losing unused cap savings from previous years.

Spending above the 2 percent tax cap is required to be approved by voters in a districtwide referendum, but the exemptions have given districts room to grow their levies without seeking voter approval.

That wasn’t always the case. County residents used to have the opportunity to vote on their school districts’ budgets, regardless of whether they were below the tax cap. But that ended in 2012, when all 39 public school districts opted to move their school elections from April to the November general election day.

The law permitting districts to move their elections to the fall eliminated budget votes.

David Levinsky: 609-871-8154; email: dlevinsky@calkins.com; Twitter: @davidlevinsky