Schools
East Brunswick School Board Adopts Tentative 2021-22 Budget
The school board adopted a tentative budget of $170 million for the 2021-22 school year.
EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — The East Brunswick school district last week voted to approve a tentative budget of $170 million for the 2021-22 school year.
This represents an increase of around 3.7 percent over the original budget for the fiscal year 2021.
According to the budget, the general fund increase is almost $2.6 million. The debt service fund will be reduced for next year. Composite tax will increase tentatively by 1.6 percent.
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The budget was presented by school business administrator and board secretary, Bernardo Giuliana.
In balancing the budget for fiscal year 2021, the school district anticipated saving around $940,000, said Giuliana.
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"That was a one time occurrence, not a recurring level of funding," said Giuliana, explaining that the amount came from custodial and transportation savings made during COVID-19 shutdown. He said the pandemic has had an impact on "enterprise revenue."
The budget contains an increase of $2.59 million in "contractual base salary." Health benefits were projected to increase by $200,000, and transportation services could see an approximate increase of $340,000.
The district is expecting an increase of $560,000 in facilities maintenance and charter schools will see a $420,000 increase in the budget.
These budget impacts amount to around $6 million.
On May 7, a public hearing will be held before the final adoption, which is scheduled for May 15.
After the presentation, board president Vicki Becker said there was "a lot of things to consider and think about." Before the presentation Becker said the board was "continuing to develop the budget" and will make changes right through the final adoption.
To see the entire budget click here.
Earlier this year, Gov. Phil Murphy's administration released a proposed $18.1 billion pre-K-through-12 state school aid funding plan for the 2021-22 school year.
East Brunswick will receive $25,892,000 in state aid, up from the $20,584,897 it received last year.
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