New Budget Hikes Average School Tax Bill by $53

The $114 million budget is under state cap; no residents speak at public hearing.

Without any public comment or a vote at the polls, Hillsborough has a new school budget. When the school district decided to switch the election of board members to coincide with the November general election, the district was also allowed by a new state law not to present its budget to voters in an April election unless it exceeded the state cap. The budget, adopted unanimously by the school board at its Thursday meeting, is $425,000 under the state cap, Superintendent of Schools Jorden Schiff said. The budget will raise the school property tax bill on the average Hillsborough home assessed at $368,700 by $53. That’s a rate increase of one cent from $1.45 per $100 of assessed value to $1.46. In Millstone, because of a 2.5 percent decrease…

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School Officials Tout Budget's Features

Despite tight revenue projections, and added costs, proposed budget advances several district goals.

Even though the fate of Hillsborough school district's tentative budget isn't dependent on voter approval anymore, Superintendent Jorden Schiff can still be found meeting with residents, school groups—just about anyone interested. In previous years, this would be expected since uninformed voters may not approve the budget or feel compelled to vote at all. This time, there won't be a vote, except for a board of education vote following the public hearing scheduled for 7:30 p.m. March 21 at Auten Road Intermediate School. "Although you are not directly involved in the budget process, you are indirectly involved," Dr. Schiff told members of Triangle School's HSA Wednesday night, after a 30-minute presentation on the budget. He added the HSA …

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Hillsborough Schools' State Aid Rises Slightly

Figures announced Thursday show shifting categories of aid.

Hillsborough schools will receive $13,046 more in state aid for the 2013-2014 school year than the current year, according to figures released Thursday. The district will receive a total of $24,936,812 in state aid, and while the total isn't changing much, the numbers inside the total shift substantially—especially in the amount of aid provided to equalize district spending, based on the township's economic and demographic classification. The equalization aid for Hillsborough is decreasing by $375,690, but to balance to cut, the district will receive $406,388 in "adjustment aid," provided to assure the district's funding level is adequate for a thorough education. The equalization aid is the bulk of the state aid, but the district also …

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Budget Timing Challenges Discussed at Hillsborough School Board

Board changes March meeting dates to accomodate meeting schedule.

There's a bit of absurdity in the state-set calendar for school districts to set their annual budgets—especially for districts who changed to November voting as Hillsborough recently did. "A budget that doesn't go to a vote, that doesn't go into effect until July, and we have to have it turned in (to the county) in the beginning of March," board member Greg Gillette noted at Monday's meeting, as board members wrestled with the compressed schedule requiring school districts to file annual budgets within days of receiving state aid figures. The board is required to submit a budget to the county superintendent by March 7, one week after receiving state aid figures. Between the end of February and the March 7 deadline, the board must calculate…

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School Election Move Could Be Made By February

Hillsborough district one of only two in the county, 73 in state not to move to November this year.

The Hillsborough Board of Education may have until the second week of February to decide whether to switch the election of board members from April to November. Board member Gregory Gillette asked the administration at Monday’s board meeting to find out the deadline for a decision to change the election. Gillette said he believed the board had until the week of Feb. 10 to make a decision. The district must notify the county clerk 60 days before the April election date if it intends to move the balloting to the November general election. The school board has scheduled meetings on Jan. 28 and Feb. 11. This is the first year that New Jersey school districts had the option of switching the election from the third Tuesday in April to the first …

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Letter to the Editor: Outgoing BOE VP Encourages Voters to Educate Themselves

Asks public to familiarize themselves with those who are running for seats.

The following is a Letter to the Editor submitted by current Hillsborough Board of Education Vice President Marc Rosenberg. To the Editor of the Hillsborough Patch, As outgoing vice president of the Hillsborough Board of Education, I personally will not endorse a candidate in this Tuesday’s election. That said, as I read the materials published by the five candidates and in the press, I find all of them qualified and eager to do the job. As you look at each candidate, here are four things to think about: I urge everyone to read up on the candidates in the Patch and the Beacon, and to attend the Candidates’ Night at the High School on Monday evening. There, you will get to hear the positions and perspectives of each person on the ballot. …

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Letter to the Editor: 'No' May Not Mean What You Think

BOE president says a rejected budget will be taken as a vote against too much spending, not the manner of the spending.

The following is a Letter to the Editor submitted by Hillsborough Board of Education President Steve Paget. Along with the letter, Paget stated that although he is president of the BOE, the views expressed are his and not that of the board. Dear Hillsborough residents, On April 17, you will have an opportunity to vote on the proposed budget. I want you to know that in Hillsborough, we had a choice: to move the school election to November and skip the budget vote (unless it was over the state mandated cap of 2 percent); or to keep the election in April and retain the budget vote. Hillsborough is a member of the mere 15 percent of New Jersey school districts that have chosen to retain the budget vote, so I encourage you to participate in …

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School Budget: Teachers Added, Laptops Provided

Spending plan would raise property taxes $37 on average township home.

The Board of Education unanimously approved Monday night a $113 million budget for the 2012-13 school year that will increase township property taxes by less than 1 percent, but will restore some staff positions, programs and fund a laptop computer for every teacher. Hillsborough and Millstone residents will have an opportunity to vote on the budget in the annual school election on April 17. Hillsborough is among just 13 percent of school districts in the state that chose to retain an April budget referendum. Under the terms of the budget, the school property tax on an average Hillsborough home assessed at $368,700 will increase by $37, Superintendent of Schools Jorden Schiff said. Taxes on a home assessed at $150,000 will increase $15 …

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Superintendent: Not Going to Cap Provides Balance

While some residents favor closing $1M gap, Schiff says savings will likely gain more support.

The decision to present a school budget below the state-mandated 2-percent tax levy cap was influenced by what the Hillsborough Board of Education feels will be more supported by residents, the superintendent said at Tuesday night's Community Partnership Network meeting at Auten Road Intermediate School. The proposed $113,679,123 budget, which the board narrowly approved by a 4-3 vote, has been met with some public scrutiny since it is about $1 million below the 2-percent tax levy cap. “The decision to go or not go to cap is based on what the board feels the community will support,” Superintendent Jorden Schiff said. The four or so attendees from the general public who attended Tuesday night’s meeting voiced support for developing a budget…

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Take Five

Love the Library? RSVP Early

We're listing library events a day earlier than usual.

When you’re a kid, there’s often no better place to be than the Hillsborough Public Library. When you're a caretaker, those programs can provide a much-needed break. That’s probably why many of the kids programs fill up so quickly—and why many require an RSVP in advance of the program date. As a result, Hillsborough Patch will be tweaking how Take Five handles the library’s happenings. Instead of listing the events day-of, we’ll try to give one day’s notice for the events, so people can RSVP earlier. Here’s what you need to know today:

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