Washington Township Sets Meeting To Discuss Regional School District Funding

The Washington Township Committee has organized a public meeting on September 13 in order to provide information and answer questions about funding the regional school district in 2017.

The meeting will be held at the Municipal Building at 7:30 p.m.

New Jersey law mandates that public schools throughout the state are funded by property taxes, but how much in tax revenue is collected is determined by the values of the homes in each district. The board voted in December 2015 to leave it in the hands of voters to decide if the way schools are funded should change.

Washington Township has two boards of education, one of which manages the West Morris Central High School. This high school is funded by the property taxes of residents in Washington Township, Mendham Township, Mendham, Borough, Chester Township, and Chester Borough, in addition to some state aid.

If the proposed referendum passes, the funding would change from being entirely based on property taxes to being based on an equal split between property taxes and per pupil cost. Four of the five towns would see a change in annual tax payments: Washington Township's payment would increase while that of Chester Borough and both Mendhams will decrease significantly. Homeowners of those towns would see changes in their taxes if the referendum is approved.

“There are a number of moving parts that will result in taxes varying each year, including changes in the relative number of pupils sent by each town,” said Board President Rob Strobel in June. “For example, a Chester Borough resident could pay $48 more per year on a $500,000 home in the third year based on current enrollment figures, but that resident could still have a net savings of $172 over three years.”

The referendum will pass if the majority of voters in the associated towns vote in favor. Otherwise, the funding based solely on property taxes will remain the same for the next decade.

Using a baseline of $500,000 in assessed property for a home in each of the five towns, each homeowner would see the following annual difference if the referendum was approved:

Chester Borough: -$401.00

Chester Township: -$85.00

Mendham Borough: -$330.00

Mendham Township: -$516.00

Washington Township: +$605.50

With reporting by Jason Koestenblatt